Then and Now
by CommanderRaydorSass
Summary: B/t S4 and S5, with Sharon/Andy adapting to the new physical relationship. Sharon's looking at old pictures. Shandy/mothership. C10–Jack comes home for a couple of weeks when Emily and Ricky are 10 and 7, then Sharon has to deal with their heartbreak when he leaves again. Sharon tells her family how serious their relationship is and is surprised that her sister already knows.
1. Chapter 1

**This is set either right before or right after the Hindsight arc of the fourth season. I couldn't make up my mind.**

 **The doctor's appt mentioned isn't any kind of foreboding. It was a means to have Sharon out of work on a Friday. I'm not in the business of killing off strong female leads for absolutely no reason (ahem). I originally planned for Rusty to either hear Sharon and Andy in bed or walk in on them, but MikUSC did an amazing job with that concept, so I just left well enough alone. Speaking of which, if you haven't read her stories, stop reading this trash and go read them. I enjoy other writers, too, but damn. If you need a good alternate ending for the sixth season, she hooked us up. :)**

 **The premise for this was going to be a rainy day, but I got several requests for "whiny Andy," so I killed two birds with one stone instead.**

Sharon quietly closed the door behind her when she slipped into the condo after a doctor's appointment one Friday morning. She'd scheduled it for the first appointment of the day so she could have most of her "sick day" to herself. Andy had been sick for a few days, but she'd thought he was going back to work today until she noticed his car still in his spot in the garage. With Rusty planning to spend most of the day with Gus, she'd been looking forward to having the condo to herself for a few hours. Andy had been staying overnight as a partner rather than a patient more and more recently, which she was thrilled about, but she was still getting used to the recent change. While having the day to herself would have been welcome, she wasn't disappointed that she'd have company, either. As long as said company kept the whining to a minimum, because he'd been driving her up the wall. He'd handled the blood clot situation with no problem, but a few cold symptoms and a slight fever had him acting like he was on his deathbed.

Sharon placed her purse on the rack in the entryway and stepped out of her sandals. Shoes in hand, she went quietly through her room and to her closet to change into something more comfortable. After pulling on some leggings, she realized the sweatshirt she wanted to put on was in the laundry room, and Rusty wasn't home, so she started for the laundry room in just her leggings and bra. "How was your appointment?" Andy mumbled from her bed.

Sharon jumped. She hadn't realized he was awake. She was much more comfortable with being undressed in front of him than she had been just a few weeks ago, but she hadn't yet reached the point where it didn't faze her at all. And she wished she were wearing one of her better bras. Any of them would've been better than this one, and she should've thrown it out long ago, but it was her favorite. She hadn't expected to be seen in it today, so she didn't worry about it when she put it on that morning. She sat on her bed and got back under the covers. "It was fine. I thought you were going back to work today?"

Andy sighed dramatically and looked up at her with pleading eyes. "I still wasn't up for it. I think my temperature went up again."

Sharon managed not to roll her eyes before leaning down to kiss his forehead. "You don't have a fever."

"But I _still_ don't feel well!" Andy insisted.

"I know, honey," Sharon said patronizingly.

Andy gave her a suggestive look. "Rusty didn't come home last night, did he?" Sharon shook her head. He'd texted her the afternoon before that he was staying at Gus's, and his car hadn't been beside hers when she got back from her appointment. "Well, there's one thing that I'm pretty sure I _am_ up for..."

Sharon gave him a look of mock reproach. "Sorry, honey, but you know the rules. If you're too sick to go to work, then you're too sick to play."

Andy shook his head. "No, no, that's _school_. Not work. And it doesn't apply to adults."

Now that Andy brought it up, it was sounding pretty good to Sharon, but she wanted to mess with him a little first. "I don't know, Andy, that may be a little strenuous for you. You're not having a relapse on my watch." She wasn't worried about germs. After being intimate right before his symptoms appeared when he was probably already contagious and then sharing her bed most nights that week, if she hadn't gotten it by now, she probably wasn't going to get it.

"Of a _cold_?! I think I'll be all right."

Sharon raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Just last night, you were sure it was the flu."

Andy looked sheepish. "Um...It's possible that I was exaggerating just a _tiny_ bit."

Sharon choked back a laugh. "You don't say."

Andy pulled his pajama top off and coughed into it before discarding it on the floor. "I think someone needs a little attitude adjustment." Sharon squealed softly as Andy pulled her closer for a powerful kiss. He reached around her to unhook her bra, but he struggled with it. He hadn't had this problem with any of her other bras, what the hell?

"I've got it." Sharon knew just how to manipulate the hooks to get it off. She held her arms behind her and fiddled with the clasp for a few moments before she got it undone. "I should've thrown it out a long time ago, but I just can't part with it yet."

"Hey, as long as it'll come off, you won't hear me complaining." Andy turned his attention to her breasts, and Sharon lay back, prepared to endure it and try to react at the right moments. This did nothing for her, but she hadn't had the heart to tell him yet. The first couple of times, she thought there was a possibility that he wouldn't do this every time and that she could wait it out the times he did, and when it became apparent that he _was_ going to do it every time, she felt foolish for not saying anything before. She didn't know if this was something most women enjoyed or not, but all it did for her was make her self-conscious about boob sweat. While she'd been with other men between Jack and Andy, none of them had been long-term, so there wasn't a reason to mention anything she didn't like, and this had never been a problem with Jack at all. While he turned out to be a first-class asshole, he knew just what she wanted in bed.

Sharon let out a small sigh of relief when Andy finally moved on, and they really started heating up. Lapse in breast judgment aside, he was always perfect for the rest of the ride. As they were lying together afterward, she couldn't help but think that part of her wished she still smoked occasionally. A post-romp cig sounded perfect right about now. Having Andy's arms around her was working for her too, though. A few minutes later, she reluctantly started to get up to go to the bathroom, but Andy pulled her back. "Why is peeing after sex a rule?" He moaned, knowing just where she was headed.

Sharon smiled as she cuddled back into Andy for a few more moments. "I don't necessarily have to so soon afterward, but I'm prone to getting UTIs, anyway, and even more so when I'm doing _this_ regularly. I prefer to do it sooner rather than later."

"Oh, god, that sounds miserable. What are those like? If you don't mind me asking."

Sharon shrugged. "They make me want to get in a scalding hot bath and just pee all over myself. I've never actually done that," she clarified, "but it's tempting." She did the 'hot baths' part when she had one, but saved the peeing for the proper receptacle. "You're right. They're miserable."

Andy nodded. "Yeah, I _definitely_ won't be complaining again...Oh, god, Sharon, go pee! Please."

Sharon laughed as she got out of bed. When she was finished in the bathroom, they stayed in bed a little while longer before finally deciding to get up for the day. Once they were dressed, or mostly dressed, in Sharon's case, she led Andy to the couch, found her sweatshirt in the laundry room and put it on over her leggings, and made tea and breakfast for Andy. It had been a busy week, and she felt bad about not being able to do more for him while he was sick. Now that she'd had time to relax, she felt guilty for getting annoyed with him, but he'd started complaining at the first sniffle, so it was hard to tell when he really _did_ start feeling bad. He didn't feel bad enough to miss work until Wednesday, but he'd started whining on Monday. "I'm sorry I haven't been here with you more this week," Sharon said softly as she settled beside him on the couch.

"Sharon. Please. You've gotten more than your fill of taking care of me in the last few months."

"Still." Sharon lay on Andy's shoulder, but she sat up, eyes widened in horror, when they heard footsteps coming down the hall. She wasn't frightened, as they unmistakably belonged to Rusty, but she had no idea he was there. He came into the living room, still in his pajamas, and his hair was disheveled from sleep. He didn't _look_ like he was scarred for life, but Sharon still prayed to God, Jesus, Mary, and her favorite dead grandmother that he hadn't heard them earlier. The balcony above them was having some repair work done, and the machines whirring outside were pretty loud, so she hoped that had drowned out any noise she and Andy might have made.

As Rusty got closer to the couch, Sharon could see that his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were a little too glassy to just be drowsiness. "Mo-om, your live-in made me sick," Rusty whined as he dropped onto the couch beside her and lay against her. "I don't feel good."

Sharon hummed sympathetically and felt his forehead. "I'm sorry, honey...Hmm, you're a little warm. And we do _not_ live together."

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Mom, if it weren't for me, you guys would still be _not dating_."

"Where's your car, and when did you come home?" Sharon asked, desperate to change the subject. She narrowed her eyes at Rusty. "I thought you sounded congested yesterday, but you said you were fine."

"Oh, my battery died, and I didn't feel like dealing with it, so I left it at Gus's and ubered home. And I thought I was just getting a cold, but I started feeling worse last night and didn't want Gus to get sick, so I came home."

Sharon brushed his hair back from his face. "Why didn't you call me to come get you?"

Rusty shrugged. That had actually been his first thought, but he was working on the _selfish_ thing. Seeing Gus with a job and being self-sufficient also gave him a little desire to be less dependent upon Sharon, but _that_ part could wait until he was feeling better. " _You're_ the one that's been sucking face with Andy all week, how did _I_ get sick and not you?" He moaned. "And could those machines be _any_ louder?"

Sharon pulled Rusty closer to her and draped a blanket over him. "Those machines are loud," she agreed, ignoring his first question entirely. "Were you able to sleep okay?"

Rusty nodded. "They woke me up when they started this morning, but I was able to sleep through it after that. But they dropped something a minute ago and woke me up again, so I gave up after that. I didn't know you were even here. I forgot you had today off. I was coming in here to tell Andy to keep his damn germs to himself." Sharon sighed in relief. Crisis averted.

Andy reached over Sharon and patted Rusty's shoulder. "Sorry, kid."

"It's fine, it's really not that bad...Wait, _this_ is what you've been bitching about all week? Come on, Andy. Man up."

"You must not have the same thing, then," Andy grumbled. "Or I just had it worse."

"Uh-huh."

Sharon adjusted herself between Andy and Rusty until she was a little more comfortable and looked down at Rusty. "Do you want some breakfast? Or tea? There's some medicine in the kitchen that seemed to help Andy—"

"Maybe in a minute," Rusty mumbled, wanting Sharon to stay where she was for the time being.

"Okay. Let me know when you want something." While she'd originally intended to have the day to herself, spending it with her sick boys suited her just fine.

After lunch, Sharon pulled out a few photo albums and settled on the floor with them while Andy and Rusty found a movie on TV. The construction crew was gone, so they could actually hear themselves think again. Rusty had perked up a little after eating and taking some medicine, and he picked up one of the albums and started going through it. "What are you doing with these?"

"I just haven't looked through them in a long time," Sharon answered. "Emily and I were talking about a Christmas in Park City when she and Ricky were small earlier this week, and I got a little nostalgic." Sharon pushed one of the chairs over to give herself a little more room, but she froze when a little bit of gas escaped during the process. One of the downfalls of getting older was having less control over that than she used to, and she blushed furiously.

Andy heard it, but it was so faint that he wasn't even sure what it was until he saw Sharon's mortified expression and the amused grin on Rusty's face. "Yep, Mom just farted," Rusty laughed, not missing the look of confusion on Andy's face. It didn't matter how old he was, he didn't think he would ever stop finding farting hilarious.

" _Rusty_!"

"What, Mom, it was going to happen at some point. You just got it over with."

Sharon's face was flaming, so Andy patted her arm reassuringly. "Come on, Sharon, if you never farted, you would explode. I'll gladly take the first option any day."

"You might change your mind when the smell gets to you," Rusty cautioned. "Mom can clear a room in a heartbeat...What, he's going to know that anyway in just a matter of seconds," he defended himself when Sharon glared at him. "I'm just giving him a warning."

Andy shook his head. "I don't believe you, kid. It sounded so... _dainty_."

"Well, it won't smell _dainty_ , I can promise you. The daintier they are, the worse they smell. And if it doesn't make any noise, you're done for. Mom's the reason _silent but_ _deadly_ is a thing."

Sharon was shooting daggers at Rusty with her eyes, but she had to admit that she was glad he was there to lighten the mood. If he hadn't been, Andy probably wouldn't have reacted at all, and then it just would've been awkward and embarrassing when the smell hit him. She also knew that if it hadn't happened then, she couldn't avoid it forever, and she was actually surprised it hadn't happened before now around him. Well, it did once in the electronics room not long after she started auditing Major Crimes when she was still in FID, but they hadn't been dating then, and no one had known it was her. It had been quiet, but no one missed the smell. She was pretty sure Buzz ended up getting blamed for that one.

A few moments later, Andy's eyes widened in recognition when the smell reached him. "Oh, my god, it was _you_ in the electronics room that day!" Andy laughed. "Poor Buzz, we _still_ give him hell about that sometimes."

"How do you remember that?" Sharon asked. That was years ago!" She remembered it well, because she'd been so afraid that they would suspect her, but no one had paid her any attention.

"Uh..." Andy faltered. "Let's just say it was memorable."

"Told you," Rusty smirked.

"At least I don't do it on purpose in the car, and then lock the windows and turn the heat on, like _some_ people I can think of." Sharon gave Rusty a pointed look over her glasses.

Rusty shrugged. "Hey, you have to make your own fun around here... _Ew_ , Mom, you outdid yourself with that one!"

"That's _enough_ , young man." Sharon got back on the floor and started sifting through one of the albums. This one was mostly Emily as an infant. Sharon smiled to herself as she remembered when she realized she was pregnant with Emily. Jack was several months out of law school and had a good job, so she was applying to law school, per their plan. Before bed one night, she was looking over her law school applications one last time before putting them in the mail the next morning. The TV in their bedroom was on, and a commercial for a pregnancy test began playing. Sharon smiled to herself, glad that she wasn't in the market for one of _those_ yet, and wouldn't be for a few more years...Wait a minute. When was the last time she'd actually had a period? Her birth control had made her periods so light that she hardly noticed them, and tampons were usually only necessary for a day or two, if that. She hadn't actually skipped any, though, had she? She thought back, and couldn't remember having a period for six or seven weeks, now. Yeah, yeah, Catholics weren't supposed to take birth control or whatever, but she'd only "agreed" to that so she could get married in the church where she grew up. It was none of anyone's damn business, and she wasn't willing to risk getting pregnant before she was ready. She hadn't attended church regularly since she still lived with her parents, anyway. A sense of dread came over her as she remembered running out of tampons almost two months ago. She definitely hadn't had a period since then. " _Fuck_ , Jack, I think I'm pregnant."

Jack looked up from the magazine in his lap in surprise. "Wait, _what_?!"

Sharon struggled to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling over. "I haven't had a period in almost two months. I've never skipped one before. I may not be, but... _God_ , I just have a feeling that I am." She watched in disbelief as a smile spread across Jack's face. "Are you _happy_ about this?! Jack! We're not ready to have a baby!"

Their friends had started having babies, and Jack only saw the good parts of having kids, so he'd started to get a little eager for that stage of their lives. "We'll figure it out, Sharon. You can still go to law school—"

"No, I can't." Sharon wiped her eyes. Well, she _could_ , but her benefits were better than Jack's, and giving that up to go back to school didn't seem right. She hadn't planned to be with the LAPD long enough to be promoted out of patrol, but she'd been there for almost four years, now, and the pay raise and more stable hours that would come with a promotion sounded more family-friendly than going back to school and starting over. She had a little over a year until she would be eligible for a promotion, but she would ideally begin law school about eight months from now. If she really was pregnant, she'd be giving birth around then instead. She got out of bed and hastily dug through their closet for some clothes.

Jack watched her in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"To get a pregnancy test. I won't be able to sleep if I don't know." An hour and a positive reading later, Sharon cried herself to sleep. A couple of weeks later, though, she was coming around on the thought of having a baby. She'd gone to the doctor a couple of days after she took the pregnancy test to confirm the results, and it was becoming more real to her now. Jack drank entirely too much, and she hoped that a baby would settle him down a little bit. She also worried that he'd really mess up and lose his job. If that happened while she was in school, they'd be in enough trouble themselves, and even more with a baby. Their parents would help them out if that happened, but she wanted to avoid that at all costs. She liked her job a lot more than she thought she would, and the thought of continuing to make money instead of shelling it out to go back to school and not get paid was appealing. Not only that, but her body took to pregnancy like nothing she'd ever seen before, which was probably a big help in changing her mind about not wanting a baby. She was no longer moody, she slept better and had more energy than she had in years, and her libido was in overdrive. From what she'd read, that wasn't supposed to happen until the second trimester if it happened at all, but she had a _really_ hard time keeping her hands off of Jack. He often joked that he wished she could be pregnant for the rest of their lives. She'd heard horror stories about morning sickness and extreme fatigue, but she'd only thrown up twice, and both times happened after she brushed her teeth. Switching from white to gel toothpaste had fixed that, for some reason, and she hadn't felt the first twinge of nausea since. (A/N: Yes, I know more than one person who was like this during pregnancy.)

Back in the present, Sharon sighed as she flipped through the album. While it was the happier times that she was remembering now, she knew looking through the pictures would bring up some dark and sad memories, too.

 **Thanks for reading! The future chapters will have more content from the earlier years (as well as Shandy—I'd originally intended to only write about the earlier years in this story, but I decided not to subject myself to the "OMG this isn't Shandy" whining I've seen in the reviews of other pre-Shandy stories, so there will be plenty of both.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thanks so much for reading! Your feedback has been amazing!_**

Sharon and Rusty silently went through more pictures for a while, and she looked up when Rusty started giggling. "Mom. This _hair_." He turned the picture around, and it was her, Emily, and Ricky after her first dance recital. Sharon was holding a four-year-old Emily's hand and had a one-year-old Ricky on her hip.

"That was _stylish_ then," Sharon insisted. The late eighties and early nineties hadn't been a great era, hairstyle-wise, but she wasn't going to acknowledge that.

"That doesn't make it any better. It's, like, a pageboy, bowl cut, and a mullet all in one."

Andy laughed. "Hey, kid, I want to see!" Rusty turned the picture around, and Andy's laughs grew louder until Sharon shot him a stern _if you want to get back into my_ _pants anytime soon, then I don't recommend laughing_ look. He'd never stopped laughing so quickly before in his life. An evil grin came over his face. "Hey, leave it to you to have a terrible haircut and still look hot."

Sharon narrowed her eyes at him. "You're on thin ice, Andrew."

"It's never good when the full first name comes out," Rusty advised. "Be careful, you don't want to piss her off enough to get middle-named, I can promise you."

"Yes, you know all about that, don't you, _Russell_?" Sharon said pointedly.

"Yeah, Andy, you're on your own." Rusty turned his attention back to the pictures in his hand. "Oh, wow, Mom, you're _enormous_!"

"I better be pregnant in that picture, young man. At least eight months pregnant." Sharon snatched the picture out of his hand. "Oh, my. I'm not only pregnant, I'm nine days past my due date. Emily finally decided to put me out of my misery a couple of hours later. Or to start, anyway, she took her sweet time." She remembered clearly when that picture was taken. Her mom had gotten anxious, waiting around for the phone call that Sharon had gone into labor, so she'd flown to LA that morning. It was the middle of September, and a scorching heat wave had hit LA. As if being hugely pregnant and over a week past her due date weren't miserable enough. The nursery had been set up and Sharon's hospital bag had been packed months before, but, being the mother of three children, her mom had decided there were more things that needed to be done. They'd been shopping and putting last-minute things together, and her mom had taken the picture without her noticing.

Rusty wrinkled his nose. "How long were you, uh, in labor?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "28 hours."

 **September 1985**

Sharon flung the sheets off of herself in exasperation. Their air conditioner hadn't exactly been able to keep up with the soaring temperatures, and between the uncomfortable heat, being over a week past her due date and too big to find a comfortable sleeping position, and having to wake up at least twice a night to pee, she wasn't getting much sleep. The baby had been pressed against her ribcage for the last few days, which only added to her discomfort. She'd tried long walks, eating spicy food, and every other doctor's suggestion or old wives' tale she'd ever heard to encourage Baby Raydor to finally make an appearance, but the kid was being stubborn. Well, there was _one_ thing she hadn't tried. The bigger she got, the less they'd been having sex, for a number of reasons for both of them, but if it would help move things along, she'd ignore her fatigue and discomfort for the time being. Sharon sighed loudly and gave Jack a suggestive look. "Sharon, come on. You, uh, should rest."

"I _can't_!" Sharon moaned. "This baby won't budge. I hadn't dilated the first centimeter at my appointment today. Sex supposedly helps. Come on, it's worth a shot, I'm miserable!" While the good moods, larger breasts, increased libido, and more intense orgasms during her pregnancy had been wonderful, the hemorrhoids, weight gain, and occasional loss of bladder control as the weeks went by made pregnancy much less appealing. In the last couple of months, the only times she'd been able to talk Jack into having sex had been when he was drunk. While he could be counted on for that more times than not, his drinking had slowed down considerably in the last couple of weeks. Sharon hadn't said much about his drinking to him before, but the possibility of him being drunk when she went into labor had prompted her to put her foot down. He hadn't stopped completely, but he was drinking much less than usual.

"But it's _weird_ ," Jack hissed. "The baby's, like, _right_ there!"

"It's been, _like, right there_ for nine months," Sharon pointed out.

"Well, it was one thing when it was the size of a peanut, but now it's a full-grown baby! We can't do that with our kid right here!"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You're going to have to get over it. This is the last thing I haven't tried to get this baby to come. We won't be able to have sex for a few weeks after it's born, and I can't stand being pregnant for another second!"

"Okay, okay." He'd forgotten about the short-term celibacy requirement after the baby was born. They'd had to get creative with their positions lately, but a little while later, Jack had a smug look on his face after Sharon'd had the most intense orgasm yet. Her eyes had nearly rolled back in her head.

"That should do it," Sharon gasped, properly exhausted. It wasn't long before a jolt from her bladder had her waddling to the bathroom. She was going to lose her damn mind if this kid didn't come soon. In better spirits now, she decided a cool bath and fresh nightgown would help her sleep. While the bath was filling up, she got a towel out and found one of her coolest nightgowns and fresh panties. The nightgown looked like something from the 1950s, but she didn't care. Maternity wear, in general, resembled 1950s clothing in 1985. When she got out of the bath, she didn't dry herself off completely, hoping the cool moisture remaining on her skin and the fan beside her bed would finally sufficiently cool her off. She pulled her nightgown over her head, peed one more time, and put a pad in her panties. Unfortunately, the hormones responsible for waking her up to pee weren't always functioning properly, and she'd wanted to die the first time she woke up with a familiar wetness between her legs and on her sheets that she hadn't felt since she was five. Thankfully, that had only happened a few times. She had to pee often because of the added weight from the baby against her bladder, but it was never much at one time. Sleeping with a pad in was usually enough to minimize the damage, but she'd added a mattress protector to the bed, just in case.

As Sharon climbed back in bed, she realized the baby had shifted its position and was no longer trying to break her ribs, so she was a little more comfortable. Jack was already snoring, and she fell asleep more quickly and slept better than she had in weeks.

The next morning, Sharon stayed in bed for a while after Jack left for work, then got up and started cleaning. Her parents would be coming once the baby was born, and Jack's would be coming sometime, too, and she knew she wouldn't feel like cleaning once they were home with the baby. Thinking the baby had to be coming any minute, she'd started her maternity leave the day before. When the doorbell rang a little while later, she was shocked to find her mother at the door. "Mom! What are you doing here?" She let her inside and threw her arms around her.

"I couldn't wait for another minute, and I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed. I got on the first available flight." After assessing the nursery, Emily decided a shopping trip was in order. When they got back, Sharon started to help her mom unpack the bags, but Emily led her to the couch and got a glass of water for her. "You've been on your feet long enough. I'm going to start dinner, and then I'll take care of this."

Sharon relaxed, happy to let her mom take over. "I'm so glad you're here." Her back had been hurting since she woke up that morning. As she gained weight, it had bothered her from time to time, but this was worse. She grimaced as she shifted against the back of the couch, earning her an appraising look from her mother.

"What's the matter?"

"My back is killing me."

A look of concern came over Emily's face. "Honey, I think you're in labor. I felt it in my back all day before I finally realized I was in labor with you."

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with weighing almost two hundred pounds," Sharon muttered. "This kid isn't going anywhere, Mom. I'm going to be pregnant for the rest of my life."

"That baby's coming sooner than you think. Try to get some sleep." Emily turned the fan beside the couch on and cooked, put some finishing touches on the nursery, and cleaned, keeping an eye on Sharon while she napped on and off on the couch. After getting up to go to the bathroom for the third time, Sharon took a shower, put a little makeup on, put on some comfortable clothes, and joined her mom in the kitchen. She felt better than she had in a couple of weeks. Soon after Jack got home, they fixed their plates and sat at the table to eat. "When have you been to the doctor?" Emily asked Sharon.

"Yesterday. I hadn't dilated at all," Sharon answered, anticipating her next question. Less than a year ago, that statement would've made Jack want to cut his ears off, but he was desensitized to pregnancy and labor talk by now. He was just glad he didn't have to go through any of it. That shit sounded miserable.

After dinner, Sharon was taking her plate to the sink when she felt wetness spread down her legs. Surely, she wasn't peeing without any warning now? She'd just gone to the bathroom before dinner. She looked down at herself in disbelief, and it took a few moments to connect the dots. Her mom realized what was happening before Sharon could say anything and gave her a smug _I told you so_ look. The next several minutes were a whirlwind as Sharon called her doctor, added a few last-minute items to her hospital bag, cleaned herself up, changed clothes, and grabbed another bag that had appeared beside her own, undoubtedly packed by her mother with things Sharon hadn't thought to pack. Sharon hugged her mom, promised to keep her updated, and made her way to Jack's car, terrified of what was to come.

28 long and painful hours later, Sharon finally felt the relief of final release and heard a proclamation of "It's a girl" along with her baby's screaming. After what seemed like an eternity, although it probably wasn't very long, she teared up as a tiny, screaming, clearly pissed off bundle wrapped in a pink blanket was placed in her arms.

Jack wrapped his arm around Sharon and kissed the side of her head before gazing down at the baby. "She's beautiful."

"Isn't she?" Sharon gently brushed the back of her hand against a tiny little cheek. The perfect little girl in her arms made it easy to forget the dynamite that seemed to be between her legs, the fact that she couldn't get out of bed without excruciating pain, and the discomforts of pregnancy.

 ** _I know some of this was probably gross, but one of my fanfic pet peeves has been that people ignore the grosser parts of pregnancy and life in general, and I prefer to be realistic. But, instead of complaining about what I didn't like on other stories (which were otherwise great, don't get me wrong!), I decided to start writing, myself._**

 ** _Also, the "present day" part of the story will stretch over a few weeks, so there will be more Shandy scenes. Some chapters will be more Shandy-heavy, and some will be more memory-heavy._**


	3. Chapter 3

**Like I said before, the whole reason for the present-day "looking at pictures" premise of this story was so I could explore how Sharon's life was as a single parent, but still have enough Shandy to hopefully avoid the "this isn't shandy" whining. With that being said, please stop asking when Andy comes into Ricky's and Emily's lives. He's not. There will only be present-day Shandy, But there will be more than enough.**

 **If you want to read a story where Andy is around during their childhoods, Kadi219 and xbleeple both have current stories going—"The Edge of a Dream" and "Closing the Deal." They're both rated "M," so if you haven't seen them before, be sure to adjust your filters, as they usually automatically filter out M-rated stories. I enjoy the childhood stories where Andy's already around, but that's not what I wanted to write.**

 **For the rest of you, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **The memories won't be in any particular order. I'm going to jump around with their ages. Later chapters will have more with Emily and Ricky at younger ages than they are here.**

"Mom. What the hell?!" Rusty held up a picture in Sharon's direction. A 2 1/2 year old Ricky was wearing a pair of toddler underwear, a crown he'd made at daycare, and nothing else.

Sharon laughed. "Ricky couldn't be bothered to use the toilet, and he screamed any time I tried to make him do it or put underwear on him. He loved that crown, so one Saturday I finally told him he couldn't have it unless he wore big boy pants and used the potty, because kings didn't wear diapers." She sighed, taking the picture and gazing at it for a few moments. "If memory serves, I believe his highness christened that underwear about five minutes after that picture was taken."

 **1991**

"Mommy! I 'wake! Mommyyyyyy!" Sharon woke up one Saturday morning when she heard Ricky calling for her from his crib and went to get him before he could wake Emily up. Jack was snoring beside her and hadn't moved, and she wasn't worried about him waking up from his hungover stupor, anyway. She stumbled across the hall, yawning and rubbing her eyes, and lifted Ricky out of his crib.

"Morning, honey," she murmured, checking his diaper as she pulled him into her arms. "My goodness, you have a wet hiney!" She laid him on the changing table, unsnapped his pajamas, removed his diaper, and wiped him down with a wet wipe. "Are you going to be a big boy and use the potty today?"

"Nooooooo," Ricky whined.

"Honey, you're too big for diapers. You have to learn to use the potty." Sharon had tried this several times already, but his lack of interest and the fact that she hadn't had much time for this had made each attempt a disaster. Emily hadn't been nearly this difficult. It was 5:30 in the morning, though, so she put another diaper on him for the time being and snapped his pajamas back up, hoping he'd go back to sleep for a little bit. Since she'd taken his pacifier away a couple of months before, he'd had an annoying habit of waking up in the wee hours of the morning. She carried him back to her room and settled him beside her in bed, where Jack was still snoring. She wrapped her arm around him and hummed softly, and he was soon sleeping again, snuggled into her side.

Later that morning, with Emily at a friend's house in the neighborhood and Jack "working," which was usually code for drinking, Sharon could focus on Ricky. His diaper was still dry after breakfast, so she took it off and sat him on the toilet. Before she knew what was happening, he was peeing all over her. By the time she figured out what the problem was and thought to hold him down, she and the area surrounding the toilet were covered in toddler pee. After cleaning everything up, she led the naked toddler to his room. Ricky started screaming the second she pulled a pair of underwear out of his drawer. The crown he'd been obsessed with caught her eye, and inspiration hit her. "No undies," he whined.

"Honey, if you want to wear your crown today, you have to wear your undies and use the potty. Kings don't wear diapers. You know when you have to go potty, so tell Mommy when you have to go." Ricky considered that and reluctantly stepped into the underwear Sharon was holding open. After a couple of hours of constantly asking him if he had to go, Sharon took a little break from harassing him and took a picture of him coloring in just his underwear and crown. He looked hilarious. By the time she'd put her camera away and put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, Ricky had disappeared from the living room. _That_ couldn't be good. She checked his room first, and spotted him in his closet. "Ricky? What are you doing?"

"Pee-peeing in my closet," he answered matter-of-factly.

Sharon bit back a laugh. "Why didn't you tell Mommy so we could go to the potty?"

"I sorry, I won't do it again!" Ricky said brightly.

 **Back to Present**

Sharon gave the picture back to Rusty and continued looking through her own stack. Andy looked like he was about to fall asleep on the couch, which was good, because she was due for a toilet trip of her own. The kind that sent her to the 'off-the-beaten-path' bathroom when she was at work or caused her to suddenly need a bath or shower if both she and Andy were home. She hadn't had to worry about that part of sharing a living space with someone in a long time, as it didn't really bother her with any of her children. Andy slept a lot when he was staying with her as a recovering patient, so this had only recently become a concern. She knew she shouldn't be embarrassed, but she just was. She was relieved when she heard light snores coming from Andy, and a few minutes and a sea of febreze later, she went back to the living room.

Sharon looked through some more pictures until she got to one of a miserable-looking Emily on the couch, clutching her favorite stuffed animal. She'd had her tonsils taken out when she was in the third grade, and the picture was from one of several instances of Strep Throat that led to the tonsillectomy. At work, Sharon had been pretty sure she was on the verge of being promoted to Lieutenant, which required longer hours and harder work to get the recognition she needed for a promotion, but any progress she felt like she'd made was often stalled by a sick or injured child or other child-related responsibility.

 **October 1993**

Sharon bustled around early one Thursday morning, getting Emily's and Ricky's lunches packed and gathering her own things. They were short-handed at work and busy, so she'd been getting to work before 7:00 every day that week. She had just enough time for one more cup of coffee before her neighbor, who was retired and had grown children, came over to get Emily and Ricky dressed and to school that morning, like she'd been doing all week since Sharon had been going in earlier than usual. She and her husband had helped out with the kids a lot, especially since Jack left a couple of years before. Sharon was about to take her coffee to the back porch for a couple of minutes of peace when she heard little feet padding down the hall. Oh, well, so much for _that_. Her aggravation faded when a sleepy-eyed Ricky entered the kitchen, with tears in his eyes and wet pajamas. He had occasional nighttime accidents until he was six or seven. She couldn't get annoyed, though, she knew it wasn't his fault. "Morning, honey." She kissed his forehead so he would know she wasn't angry with him and took his hand. "Let's go take a bath really quick, and then I'll fix you some breakfast." She put his pajamas, sheets, and mattress protector in the washing machine and grabbed a clean pair of underwear and a t-shirt while the bath tub in her bathroom filled up. After quickly bathing him, she lifted him out and gently dried him off.

By the time Ricky was dressed and eating a bowl of cereal at the bar, their neighbor was arriving. "Hi, Anne," Sharon greeted warmly. "Thanks so much for helping me out this week. Help yourself to coffee or anything you want."

"You're welcome. I'm always happy to help out with my babies." Sharon didn't have any family nearby, and Anne and her husband had functioned as surrogate grandparents for the last few years.

Sharon looked at the clock on the stove. "Emily can sleep for about twenty more minutes. Both of their uniforms are hanging on their closet doors, and their lunches are right here."

"I've got it under control Sharon. Go ahead."

Sharon gulped down the rest of her coffee and put her mug in the dishwasher. "Thank you."

A little while later, Sharon was in the middle of something at work when someone interrupted her. "Raydor. Your neighbor's on the phone. Something about your kid." Sharon sighed. She'd threatened to take away everything Ricky owned if he gave Anne a hard time all week, but that clearly hadn't had the same effect as the previous days. Emily was never a problem in the mornings, aside from dragging her out of bed.

"Hi, Anne. If Ricky gave you trouble this morning, I'll—"

"Hold on, Sharon, it's all right. Emily's running a bit of a fever, so I brought her back home. I'm staying with her, I just knew you would need to call the school to tell them she'd be absent."

Sharon was torn. Illness was one area where she'd never asked for Anne and Joe to help. She'd feel terrible if they got sick, and she wouldn't like to leave Emily or Ricky when they were sick, anyway. "That's okay, Anne, I'm coming ho—"

"Sharon Raydor, you stay right where you are. This is why Emily didn't tell me she didn't feel well and begged me not to call you. We'll be fine."

Even at 34, being addressed by her first and last name was every bit as frightening coming from Anne as from her parents. "Yes, ma'am. What's the matter with her?"

"She said her throat and head hurt, and her temperature's 101. She was quiet and sluggish this morning and didn't eat much breakfast, so I asked her if she felt okay a couple of times, but she claimed she was fine. She started crying when I dropped them off, though, and I realized she felt feverish, so I brought her home."

"Thanks, Anne. I'm so sorry. She seemed fine last night. Is she nearby?"

"It's okay, Sharon, kids get sick out of nowhere, as you well know. I'll take the phone to Emily."

"Mom," Emily murmured drowsily a few moments later.

Sharon's heart broke. Emily sounded miserable. "Hi, baby. I'm sorry you don't feel good. It's not a problem for me to come home if you want me to."

"That's okay. Mrs. Anne bought some ice cream for me on the way home, and she's making vegetable soup for lunch."

Sharon couldn't fault her for her choice on caregivers, there. Anne's vegetable soup with real, squeezed tomato juice and vegetables from the garden was the best thing she'd ever eaten. "Okay, honey. If you feel really bad or just want me to come home, just ask Mrs. Anne to call me, okay? I'll call and check on you after lunch. I love you."

"Love you. Will you see if Blockbuster has _Beethoven_ on the way home?"

"You got it."

By 3:00, Sharon couldn't take it anymore. She'd put in a full 8-hour day, and the extra hours she'd been putting in all week now seemed pointless. It always seemed to happen this way. One step forward, three steps back. After informing her commanding officer that she had a sick child and wouldn't be back until Monday, she stopped by Blockbuster, as promised, found the highly-coveted Beethoven VHS, and swung by St. Joseph's to pick up Ricky and headed home. She didn't realize she hadn't thought about dinner until she walked inside and could smell it cooking. Looking around at the sparkling kitchen and folded laundry, she could tell Anne had been busy. Not that she was surprised. She had a key to their house, and it wasn't abnormal for Sharon to come home on a normal day to find Anne cooking or cleaning. After sending Ricky to his room to change out of his uniform, she found Anne and Emily cuddled together in the recliner in the living room. Emily was sound asleep, and Anne didn't look far from it. "Hi, Anne. Thanks for taking care of Em today. I know this isn't what you signed up for."

Anne looked down at the sleeping eight-year-old nestled against her. "I didn't mind at all. You didn't need to come home early."

"I know, but I wanted to beat traffic, and I was ready to get back to this little one." Sharon knelt beside the couch and ran her hand through Emily's hair. "How was she this afternoon?"

"Her stomach's been a little upset, and I think it's still hurting her." Anne held the back of her hand to Emily's forehead. "She started feeling like her temperature was going up a little while ago, but she was about to fall asleep, so I was going to wait until she wakes up to give her some Tylenol."

"Oh, no, I hope she doesn't have Strep again. She's had it twice since May, and it bothered her stomach both times." Sharon brushed Emily's messy hair back and kissed her forehead. "She does feel hot...I'll probably go ahead and take her to the doctor tomorrow. Thanks for cleaning up and cooking. I don't know what we would do without you sometimes."

"You would be fine. If you need to work tomorrow, I'll be happy to stay with her."

Sharon shook her head. "Thanks, but I've already told my boss I would be out tomorrow, and I want to be here with her. Thanks so much."

Later that night, Sharon read to Ricky and tucked him into bed. When she got back to the living room, Emily was starting to nod off. Sharon sat on the edge of the couch and felt her forehead. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Emily nodded and reached for her to pick her up. Sharon carried her into the kitchen, sat her on the counter, and carefully measured some Tylenol into a spoon before feeding it to her. Once Emily was ready for bed and tucked in, Sharon lay down with her until she was asleep, then sat on the patio for a while with a much-needed glass of wine.

 **This chapter was supposed to be more Shandy-heavy, but the whiny reviewers discouraged that for the time being. Like I've already said, some chapters will be Shandy-heavy, and some chapters will be kid-heavy.** **But more Shandy will be coming. I apologize to the polite readers who prefer the Shandy scenes, but whiny reviewers are why we can't have nice things. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

On Sunday morning, Sharon spent the morning looking through more pictures. Between the rainy weather and having a sick boyfriend and son, she'd decided not to go to mass. "Mo-om, why can Andy eat on the couch and I can't?!" Rusty whined. "He's not even using a plate!"

Sharon sighed. That had actually been driving her crazy, but she felt weird telling her grown partner what to do. Bringing up that rule with Rusty had been nothing, as he'd been a teenager living under her care when the need for that discussion came up. He was so obnoxious at the time that she'd even gotten a little pleasure out of enforcing the rule when needed. While Andy was recovering from his blood clot, he'd eaten meals on the couch, but she'd thought he'd get out of that habit when it was no longer physically necessary. The smaller things like that, not rinsing the sink out after he brushed his teeth or shaved, and leaving the toilet seat up now that he was in reasonably good health again were starting to wear on her nerves. She'd thought it would get better as his health improved, but so far it hadn't. She was hesitant to say anything, though, as she didn't want to nag. She'd made that mistake, among others, with Jack. While Jack had obviously made bigger and more mistakes, she'd been a little at fault in their relationship, too.

Andy looked down at his sandwich. "What, I can't eat on the couch?! Seriously?" Baseball season as he knew it was starting to look dismal if he couldn't eat on the damn couch.

"The closest you can get and still keep Darth contained is to stand behind the couch and use a plate," Rusty advised.

Andy looked at Sharon. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Sharon shrugged. "I didn't feel right telling you what to do. We agreed that I was only the boss at work."

"True, but this is your condo. I've lived by myself for a long time, and I know I probably have some habits that need some work. And it's not like you were being bossy about _other_ stuff."

"Ewwwwww, there's a kid in here!" Rusty protested.

Andy rolled his eyes. "I meant like—"

"I don't care what you meant. Ew."

Sharon ignored their banter and turned her attention back to the pictures in her hands. Emily, newly a teenager, was looking back at her. It was the morning of her thirteenth birthday, and also the morning Ricky unexpectedly learned about periods.

 **September 1998**

"All right, Ricky, you can go wake her up." Ricky shot upstairs as Sharon finished up breakfast and arranged Emily's gifts at the table. When their birthdays fell on a weekend, Sharon always cooked a big breakfast and let them open gifts first thing. She finished her coffee, washed her hands, and mixed a mimosa for herself. She rarely drank during the day, but having a new teenager in the house, twenty more coming over for a party that night, and seven of them spending the night after the party, she could justify it. She couldn't believe Emily was already thirteen. _Where_ had the time gone?!

Sharon was pulled from her thoughts when Ricky ran back into the kitchen, wide-eyed and looking horrified. "Mom, something's wrong with Emily!"

"Oh, no, is she sick?" School _had_ just started back, so she wouldn't be surprised. Sharon put her glass down and dried her hands with a dish towel.

Ricky shook his head. "I think she's hurt. There's blood all over her bed!"

"Oh, my god!" Sharon took the stairs two at a time with Ricky on her heels. She rushed into Emily's room, but rolled her eyes when she immediately recognized the situation. If Ricky hadn't been so dramatic with his description, she probably would've guessed it before she came upstairs. The little bit of blood that was on Emily's pajamas and sheets probably _did_ look a little frightening to a nine-year-old, though. Sharon crouched in front of Emily's sleeping form and rubbed her back. "Wake up, baby."

"Noooooo," Emily mumbled. Her eyes shot open after a few moments when she remembered it was her birthday, though.

"Happy Birthday!" Sharon sat on Emily's bed and pulled her into her arms. She was happy to see that there was an explanation for the moody demon that had seemed to possess Emily for the last couple of days. Her sweet Emily was still in there, somewhere. Just loaded with hormones.

"Thanks, Mom." Emily rubbed her eyes, but widened them again when she realized something wasn't right. Surely, she hadn't wet the bed? She hadn't done that since she was five. "Did I..." Emily warily pushed her covers off of her and looked down. In her drowsy state, it was taking her a minute to connect the dots. "Is that my..."

"I can't believe you started your period on your thirteenth birthday!" Sharon couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes.

"Ugh, Mom, do you have to cry about _everything_?" Emily asked, looking disgusted.

"What's a period?" Ricky asked from the doorway of Emily's room, where he'd watched the entire exchange in confusion. Sharon had forgotten all about him.

"What's he _doing_ in here?!" Emily demanded, looking horrified.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll talk to him. Go downstairs, Ricky, I'll explain it to you in a few minutes. She's okay."

"But Mom—"

" _Now_."

"Okay, okay." Ricky reluctantly left the room, not brave enough to test _that_ tone.

Sharon started stripping Emily's bed once she got up. She'd have to wash the mattress pad separately, but there wasn't much there. The mattress was probably okay. "Why don't you take a bath and put some clean pjs on while I take care of your sheets?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, I do feel a little gross."

Sharon started Emily's bathwater, dug through the bathroom closet she'd stocked months ago in anticipation of this moment, and placed a pad on the bathroom counter while Emily found some clean pajamas and stumbled into the bathroom. "Give me your panties and pajama pants, and I'll wash them with your sheets."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm sorry, that's disgusting."

"It's okay, honey. Being a woman can be pretty disgusting. I'm used to it by now." Sharon hauled the laundry downstairs, rinsed everything out as well as she could in the laundry room sink, and spot-treated what was left with stain remover before tossing everything in the washing machine. With the laundry humming, she couldn't avoid Ricky any longer. He was on the couch in the living room, watching TV. "So, I'm guessing you have some questions, huh?" Sharon said as she sat beside him, trying to sound nonchalant. Ricky looked back at her with an expression that clearly said _duh_. "Okay. When a girl gets to where her body is ready to have a baby—"

Ricky's eyes widened. "Emily's going to have a baby?!"

"No, honey. I mean, I hope she will one day, but not for a very long time." _She better_ _not, anyway_. "But she's just grown enough to where it's _possible_ for her to have a baby." Ricky seemed to understand, so she kept going. God, telling a nine-year-old boy about periods had _not_ been on her to-do list today. "Emily's not having a baby for a long time, but her body has to prepare for when she _does_ have a baby. Her eggs—"

"Emily has _eggs_? Like a chicken?!"

"Yes, but people eggs are different from chicken eggs," Sharon explained, trying to keep a straight face.

"Why do some chicken eggs have stuff we eat in them, and some have baby chickens?"

Okay, maybe this avenue would actually help her explain this more easily. "Chickens lay eggs regularly, whether there's a baby chicken in them or not. Emily's body has to release an egg every month, and an egg that doesn't have a baby in it will dissolve and come out in her blood."

After a much-less-painful-than-anticipated conversation involving ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and eggs, Ricky seemed to get it. "So, Emily was bleeding this morning because she laid an egg."

"That's one way of looking at it," Sharon agreed, barely succeeding in keeping herself from laughing. She knew her explanation hadn't been exactly accurate, but it was close enough. "But don't say anything like that to her. Or to any of your friends or anyone else. It's not a big deal, but this is new for her, and she may be a little embarrassed about it. This stays between us, okay?"

Ricky nodded. "But why can't the eggs just stay where they are until she _does_ have a baby?"

"That would be nice, but it just doesn't work that way."

"Wait, do _you_ still lay eggs?"

Sharon smiled wryly. "Yes, honey. I have periods, too," she said, trying to steer him away from the 'laying eggs' terminology. "I better go see if Em needs help." Emily was coming out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of pajamas when Sharon got upstairs. "Everything okay?" Emily nodded. "Do you have any questions?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Pads are pretty self-explanatory, Mom."

"I meant in general." They'd had a similar talk to the one she'd just had with Ricky, minus the chicken eggs, a couple of years before when Emily found a tampon in Sharon's purse and asked what it was. Between that, a couple of further conversations since then, and sex ed at school, she was probably covered, but she wanted to make sure.

"I think I'm good." Emily headed for the stairs, eager for breakfast and gifts. Sharon followed her and rescued her abandoned mimosa from the counter. She didn't miss the look of disappointment on Emily's face as she scanned the tags on the wrapped gifts at her place at the table. Sharon, Ricky, both sets of grandparents, and Sharon's brother and sister were accounted for, but no Jack. She'd thought about putting his name on one and saying it had arrived in the mail with the packages from the other family members, but she doubted he would even call, so Emily would probably pick up on the fact that he hadn't actually sent a gift.

After breakfast, Sharon got out her camera and took a few pictures as Emily opened her gifts. A new outfit and shoes for her party that night, some new accessories for her bedroom, and a sapphire ring, her birthstone, from Sharon, small pearl stud earrings from her parents, and an assortment of books, CDs, clothes, and jewelry from the other family members quickly put Emily in better spirits. As she was opening the last gift, there was a knock on the back door leading to the patio before Anne and Joe, their neighbors, let themselves into the kitchen. "Hey, birthday girl!" Joe kissed Emily's cheek and placed a gift in front of her.

Emily's eyes lit up. "Thank you!"

"We heard there was a teenager next door now, so we had to come see," Anne added as she gave Emily a hug.

"Indeed, there is," Sharon muttered. "On that note, would either of you care for a mimosa?"

"I'll take one," Anne answered. "You're just getting started, honey."

Sharon rolled her eyes and poured a mug of coffee for Joe. "Don't I know it."

Later that evening, with Ricky at a friend's house for the night and Emily's party in full swing, Sharon escaped next door, where she could drink wine on the back porch with Anne and keep an eye on the party undetected. "Emily looks so grown-up tonight," Anne commented wistfully as she handed Sharon a glass of wine.

Sharon nodded as tears filled her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. Her feelings had gone back and forth from sadness about Emily growing up to apprehension about what the teenage years would bring. At the moment, she was on sadness. "I know. I don't know why I'm so emotional about it. I'm acting like she's already leaving for college."

"It was sad for me when my girls turned thirteen, too," Anne agreed. "I never really noticed when they stopped seeming like little girls, but turning thirteen was like the official sign that they weren't kids anymore."

Sharon wiped her eyes and took a long sip of wine. "Emily got her first period this morning, so I got a double dose of it today. Of course, Ricky went to wake her up and saw it, so _that_ was a fun discussion this morning."

"Oh, my god! How did _that_ go?" Anne laughed. "With three girls, we never had that problem."

Sharon chuckled. "Chicken eggs somehow got involved, and I'm praying that he's not currently telling his friend about how his sister 'laid an egg' this morning."

 **Back to Present**

"So, anymore rules I should know about?" Andy asked.

"They're not _rules_ , Andy. Just preferences," Sharon answered.

"They seem a lot more like _rules_ when you break them," Rusty spoke up.

Andy turned to Rusty, blowing his nose with exaggerated form. "You'd think she'd have a little mercy on us, being so sick."

"I know, right?"

"I keep telling you, Andy, a bath with my eucalyptus oil will clear your sinuses up."

"I'm not taking a girly bath!"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Just try it. If you don't like it, I'll make it up to you."

Andy shrugged. "Why not?" Finding out what she meant by she would "make it up to him" would be more than worth it.

Sharon gleefully went back to the bathroom and started the bath. She sat down to use the bathroom and let out a small scream when she didn't stop where she should have and almost fell in. " _Damn_ it!"

"Oh, that's another rule," she heard Rusty say from the living room. "You have to put the toilet seat down."

A few moments later, Sharon washed her hands and waited for the toilet to stop running so she could test the temperature of the running water. When she was satisfied, she added her bath oil. Once Andy was closed in the bathroom, she settled on the couch beside Rusty. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. I'd rather feel like this than see Andy strolling around in his boxers again, though. Ick."

Sharon laughed as she pressed her hand to his forehead. "Your fever's coming down a little bit. The worst of it should be over in the next couple of days." By the time Andy got out of the bath, Rusty had fallen asleep. "What's the verdict?" Sharon asked quietly when he came back in.

"Get ready to do some making up, because I'm pretty sure my testicles went down the drain with the water," Andy huffed.

A few days later, Sharon came home from work earlier than usual, wanting nothing more than a hot bath. She added soap and oil, opting for lavender this time, and let the water run while she got dinner started. Andy came in not much later and kissed her before going to her room to change clothes. The fruity smell and running water from the bathroom caught his attention. He'd actually enjoyed his bath on Sunday, but he wasn't about to admit it. Now that there was another one staring him in the face, it was hard to ignore it, and he was overcome with desire to get in. But, Sharon would know he'd lied about—screw it. He was out of his clothes almost as quickly as the night they'd finally had sex for the first time and went straight for the bath.

When Andy didn't come back out a few minutes later, Sharon went to see what the holdup was. The bathroom door wasn't closed, so she walked in to see what he was doing. "Andy! This is _my_ bath!"

"Didn't have your name on it," Andy murmured, too relaxed to care.

"That was implied when I started it for myself! Get out of my bath!"

"Yeah, that's not happening."

"I can tell you something _else_ that won't be happening, either," Sharon muttered. Andy's phone started ringing from their bedroom, and a wicked grin came over her face as an idea came to her. It was most likely Provenza, so she could have some fun with this.

A look of horror came over Andy's face. "Don't even _think_ about it..."

Sharon found Andy's phone and came back into the bathroom. "Oh, look at that! It's Louie. I better answer so he doesn't whine about you screening his calls."

" _Sharon_ —"

"Hello? Yes, Andy's here, but he can't come to the phone. He's taking a bubble bath with lavender oil." Sharon held the phone away from her so Andy could hear the cackling coming through the phone before she hung up.

"I'll get you for that." Andy chased her into the kitchen, slipping and sliding on his wet feet a couple of times before he finally caught her.

" _Stop_ , Andy, you're getting me wet!"

"That's the idea." Andy kissed her more forcefully, indicating what was on his mind. "Rusty's staying at Gus's tonight, isn't he?"

"Yes...You sure are ambitious for someone who just stole a woman's bath," Sharon commented. "I don't think you realize what a serious offense that is."Andy ignored her and moved his mouth to her neck, pleased when he was rewarded with a low hum. He was still discovering her sensitive spots, and he knew he'd just found another one he didn't know about before. "Um, what was I saying?" Sharon murmured.

"Don't remember."

"Hold on, let me put dinner in the oven really quick." While Sharon was doing that, Andy slipped into the laundry room for a towel to get rid of the bubbles that remained on his skin. By the time they found their rhythm and were heating up, they were against the dryer. It worked surprisingly well for both of them, and they were making their way to the bedroom, properly exhausted, when Sharon finally remembered the running bathwater. "Oh, my god!"

"I know! We'll have to do that again," Andy said, completely oblivious.

"No! Well, _yes_ , but the bath's still running!" Sharon rushed into the bathroom, where, as expected, the bathtub was overfilled and a small pool had formed on the floor. Sharon turned the water off and looked around in dismay. Nothing was ruined, but this wasn't going to be an easy clean-up job. An idea came to her. "It's a good thing this wasn't my bath, otherwise I'd have some cleaning to do," she said sweetly, handing Andy a towel as she left the room. The first of several that would be needed.

"Wait, that's not fair!" Andy protested.

"Maybe you'll think twice before stealing my bath again!"


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter was mostly finished when MkSC messaged me about the more detailed Ricky moment from Freaking Out, and I'm not sure where I'm going to fit it in yet, but hopefully it will be the next couple of chapters.**

 **Some of you seemed to enjoy the addition of music in Back in the Game, so I'm going to try to do the same in a few of these chapters. Thanks, as always, for reading!**

One Saturday evening, Sharon and Andy were getting ready to go out for dinner. Sharon, wearing nothing but a towel on her head from her shower, was brushing her teeth and putting her makeup on. As was usual more times than not, her sink had been streaked with toothpaste and had hair from Andy shaving earlier. _God_ , that drove her crazy. It hadn't taken long for Rusty to realize that it was less annoying to just go ahead and keep his sink clean instead of listening to Sharon hound him about it all the time, but she didn't want to do that to Andy. For the time being, she opted to use Rusty's sink to get ready. He was out with Gus and wasn't coming home until the next day, hence her lack of clothing. She still felt a little awkward walking around unclothed when she and Andy weren't being intimate, but there wasn't much opportunity for that, so she was still getting used to it. Andy came in a couple of minutes later, naked and ready for his own shower. Walking around in the nude hadn't bothered him since day one of their physical relationship. but, then again, he'd also lived alone for a long time. Sharon'd had a few years of living alone after Ricky left for college, but by the time she could even think about getting accustomed to not having to be dressed all the time, Rusty was moving in.

Andy gave her a questioning look as he came in. "Why are you using Rusty's sink?"

"It's cleaner," Sharon said plainly.

"Oh..." Andy eyed their sink. "God, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting I'm sharing a sink with you now." He'd used Rusty's sink when he'd been staying at the condo as a patient, but had gradually switched to using Sharon's as his overnight stays evolved from patient to partner. Thinking back, either Sharon or Rusty had probably cleaned up behind him more than once when he forgot to do so himself. After living alone for so many years, it was a hard habit to get into. Obviously, he cleaned his bathroom fairly often, but he'd use his own sink several times before cleaning it with no one else using it behind him.

Sharon's expression softened. She knew he wasn't trying to annoy her, but seriously, how hard was it to take two seconds and wipe out the damn sink?! She wasn't asking for it to be sparkling all the time. A paper towel and water would be more than enough. "It's okay. It took weeks of nagging Rusty to get him to keep his reasonably clean. I won't do that to you."

"Hey, if that's what it takes..." Andy said sheepishly. "I know it's annoying."

Sharon playfully raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we should institute a little award system?"

"Now, _that_ , I think I could get on board with. You know, our reservation isn't until 7:30..."

Sharon shook her head. "Which means that if you don't get in the shower now, we'll be late." Showering aside, it often took him longer to get ready than it took her, which made absolutely no sense. Once her makeup was on, she slipped into one of Andy's casual button-downs, brushed out her wet hair, got a glass of wine, and went out to the balcony. The weather had been colder than they were used to for most of the week, but it was perfect today. She stretched out in a lounge chair and played music from her phone as she sipped her wine, intending to let her hair dry for a little while before blowdrying it. The familiar music and nice weather had her draining her Pinot more quickly than she intended.

 _We get it almost every night  
When that moon gets big and bright  
It's a supernatural delight  
Everybody's dancin' in the moonlight_

 _Dancin' in the moonlight  
Everybody's feelin' warm and right  
It's such a fine and natural sight  
Everybody's dancin' in the moonlight_

 _We like our fun and we never fight  
You can't dance and stay uptight  
It's a supernatural delight  
Everybody was dancin' in the moonlight_

Sharon was surprised when her wine disappeared so quickly. She must've poured a smaller glass than she thought. She went inside to refill her wine glass, making it a little larger this time. A few songs later, she figured she had enough time for one more song before she had to go inside and finish getting ready. Oh, yes, this was the perfect song to end on.

 _I know it sounds funny, but I just can't stand the pain  
Girl, I'm leaving you tomorrow  
Seems to me girl you know I've done all I can  
You see I begged, stole, and I borrowed_

 _That's why I'm easy  
I'm easy like Sunday morning  
That's why I'm easy  
I'm easy like Sunday morning_

Sharon finished her glass and went inside. Once her hair was done, she was standing in her closet and trying to figure out what to wear. Andy appeared behind her a few moments later. "What about that black dress you bought a couple of months ago? I've only seen you wear it once."

"Yeah...I didn't love that dress, though. It wasn't exactly top-heavy-friendly." It had been one of those dresses that looked good at first glance when she tried it on, but as the night went on the first time she wore it, she'd felt self-conscious in it. It had been tight in the wrong places and just wasn't the most flattering dress she owned.

Andy rolled his eyes. He had yet to see the problem with sizeable breasts, perfect legs, and the tiniest bit of something extra to hold on to in between. "You're out of your mind. You looked perfect in that dress."

"You think so?" Sharon took the dress down and looked it over. It wasn't uncomfortable, she just hadn't loved the way she looked in it.

"Yeah...If it wasn't comfortable, don't wear it, but I thought you looked amazing in it."

"No, it was comfortable enough. I just didn't think it was very flattering."

Andy kissed the newly-discovered sensitive spot on her neck. "You don't need _flattering_. You could make a paper bag look hot."

Sharon laughed. "Okay, _now_ you're just trying to get into my pants."

Andy grinned. "Is it working?"

Sharon laid her dress on the bed and got out a clean bra and pair of panties before slipping Andy's shirt off of her. "We'll see." A few moments later, she had zipped her dress up as far as she could from reaching behind around her waist, but she felt Andy zipping it up the rest of the way before she could reach over her shoulders to get it. "I could've done that. But thanks."

"You could also ask for help."

"Yeah..." Yeah, she wasn't so used to that.

When they got home from dinner, Andy was groping Sharon and kissing her neck before they even got off of the elevator. "Andy, stop!" Sharon exclaimed in a half-hearted protest. She didn't really want him to stop, especially after the additional two glasses of wine she'd had with dinner, but she'd rather not scandalize the neighbors, either. Once they made their way to the bedroom, she took the lead, armed with a little liquid courage. Being even a little drunk was an uncommon occurrence, so she decided to take advantage of it. She tried to guide him away from her breasts, knowing that's where he was headed, but he found his way there, anyway. She grabbed his wandering hand with one of hers and gently guided his face away from her breasts with her other hand, eager to get on with things.

Andy paused. "What? You don't like that?"

Sharon shrugged. "I don't really _mind_ it, it just doesn't do anything for me."

"Seriously? Why didn't you say something?"

"It just wasn't a big deal. I'm probably in the minority on that, and I didn't want you to feel like you were doing something wrong." Sharon lowered her hands and caressed him as she started kissing him again, hoping to distract him.

"But—hmmm," Andy moaned, indicating that she'd been successful. Sharon rolled her eyes. Some things never change. "Yeah, I'll _definitely_ be cleaning the sink out more often," Andy panted a little while later. "This isn't fair. Women can use sex to get what they want. We can't do that!"

Sharon nodded and curled up more closely with him. "You're right. That's not fair. I'll just start nagging instead."

"Whoa, now, I just said it wasn't fair. I didn't say it didn't work!"

The next afternoon, Sharon settled in the living room to look through old pictures again. She'd hit a patch from Ricky's and Emily's early elementary school years. Emily, with her messy brown hair and missing baby teeth, and Ricky, still with a little baby pudge and those adorable big brown eyes. As she flipped through the album, she could tell almost exactly when Emily had gone from not giving any thought to her messy ponytail to refusing to leave the house before she'd perfectly fixed her hair. It had seemed to happen overnight. Ricky grew taller and thinner before her eyes, and she paused when she got to a picture of the two of them in their matching Christmas pajamas. Emily was 11 and Ricky was a couple of months shy of 8, and there was a cast on Ricky's arm. She remembered the day he broke his arm perfectly. It had been one of her most frightening days as a mother at that time.

 **November 1996**

One Friday afternoon, Sharon leaned against a cabinet as the commanding officer of another division droned on and on about something she'd stopped listening to she didn't know how long ago. It wasn't anything important, he just wouldn't stop talking. What was supposed to be a two-minute trip to the floor above her own had lasted for half an hour. Her stomach was starting to hurt in the familiar way that meant her period was about to start. She'd gotten her tubes tied after Ricky was born, so she no longer had the predictable and relatively painless periods that had come with birth control. She wanted nothing more than to lie on the couch with the heating pad, but she couldn't go home for a few more hours. Her beeper went off then, and she hoped to god that it was something that meant she was finally getting out of this conversation. She looked down, and the familiar phone number of St. Joseph's flashed up at her. "Excuse me, sir, but this is my children's school. I should call them back."

"Hey, Raydor, your kids' school has been calling," one of the lieutenants informed her as she rushed back into her own division.

"Yes, thank you," she murmured hastily as she picked up the nearest phone and dialed the school. She was expecting to be informed of either a sick kid or one who was in trouble and would wish they were sick by the time she got finished with them, but she was alarmed when she was told that Ricky had fallen off of the jungle gym at recess and seemed to have broken his arm. She gathered her things and quickly told her commanding officer she had an injured child and needed to leave, then rushed out without waiting for his approval and hurried to St. Joseph's.

Ricky was curled up on a cot when she practically sprinted into the infirmary, cradling his left arm with his right one. His uniform was dirty, and his face was streaked with tears and a little dirt. Fresh tears started streaming down his face when he heard the familiar clack of Sharon's heels. "Hey, honey," Sharon crooned softly as she sat beside him and carefully gathered him in her arms. She was a nervous wreck, but she didn't want to frighten him. She carefully looked him over, but other than the unnatural angle his left arm was bent into, he was a little scraped up and otherwise seemed okay. She didn't have to examine his arm too closely to see that it was broken, though. The bruised swelling and deformed appearance of his arm made that quite clear. Taking down the jungle gym had been a heated subject of debate at the last couple of PTA meetings because of children getting hurt, but until now, there hadn't been anything more serious than a few skinned knees. "How far up were you when you fell?"

Ricky sniffled and pressed himself more closely to her. "Almost at the top. It hurts, Mommy."

Sharon knew something was wrong when he called her "Mommy," now that he'd recently decided he was too old for that. "I know it does, sweetheart. I need to sign you out really quick, and then we'll go get it fixed, okay?" Sharon took the clipboard the nurse was offering her and scribbled her name on the sign-out sheet before thanking her and slinging Ricky's backpack over her shoulder. She gently helped him up and put her arm around him as she walked him out to her car.

Thirty minutes later, Ricky was lying against Sharon as she filled out some paperwork in the waiting room of the ER. "Mom?" He spoke up a few minutes later.

"Hmm? You okay?"

Ricky nodded. "I just, um...have to go to the bathroom."

Sharon looked around and spotted the restrooms on the other side of the room. "All right." She placed the clipboard in the chair beside her, picked up her purse, and led Ricky across the room. He was old enough for her not to have to take him to the ladies' room with her when they were in public, but she still preferred to be nearby when he was in the men's room. He came out a minute later, and his name was being called as Sharon finished filling out his forms. A little while later, they were in a small curtained-off area and speaking to an orthopedic doctor.

"Okay, Ricky, can you tell me how you hurt your arm?" She asked kindly.

Ricky looked up at Sharon like he always did when he wanted her to answer for him. She usually made him respond himself when he got shy, but she indulged him when he was hurt or not feeling well. "He fell—"

"I need to hear it from Ricky, please," Dr. Hernandez interrupted.

The police officer side of Sharon knew that it was necessary and why, but the mother side of her was a little annoyed. She kept her mouth shut, though, and gently nudged Ricky to prompt him to speak up. "Fell of the jungle gym at school," he mumbled.

"Oh, no! I bet that was scary," the doctor commented.

Ricky nodded pitifully, now in full sympathy-seeking mode. "It hurts _really_ bad."

"I'm sure it does. I just need to take a few pictures of the bones in your arm, and then we'll get you fixed up, okay?"

A couple of hours later, they were home after a stop to pick up Ricky's prescription for pain medicine and some of his favorite snacks and another to rent a couple of movies. Emily was going home from school with a friend and spending the night, so Sharon didn't have to worry about picking her up later that afternoon. True to her prediction, she could tell by then that a bathroom trip was necessary, so she got that taken care of and changed into loose sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt before she forgot. Wanting to coddle Ricky a little bit, she helped him change into his pajamas and tucked him in on the couch. It was the week before Thanksgiving, so he had chosen a couple of Christmas movies. After taking his medicine and eating a little bit, he was asleep halfway through _The Santa Clause_. Sharon draped an extra blanket over him before finding the heating pad, pouring a glass of wine, digging her emergency pack of cigarettes out of the back of the highest kitchen cabinet, and sitting on the back porch. She hadn't smoked regularly since before she got pregnant with Emily, but she kept a spare pack hidden for the most hellacious of days. The week had been long and difficult even before the scare with Ricky, and the worry from that had tipped her into cigarette mode for the first time in over a year. After plugging the heating pad into the extension cord and positioning it to ease her persistent cramps, she lit her cigarette and let out a relaxed sigh.

Anne walked over from next door as Sharon was savoring the first inhale. "You're home early. Is everything okay?"

Sharon took a long sip of wine. "Ricky fell and broke his arm at recess today, so I had to pick him up early and take him to the ER."

"Poor little thing. Broken bones aren't fun. For either one of you."

"You're telling me. Want some wine?"

"Hmm, that sounds pretty good. I'll get it." Anne let herself inside and got another glass of wine, knowing very well by then where everything was. "Cramps, huh?" Anne said sympathetically, nodding at the heating pad.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Why does my body have to put me through hell just to tell me I'm not pregnant? I've already had surgery and a frustratingly absent husband to confirm that." Jack disappeared and reappeared every so often, and he always managed to break down her defenses and get her into bed, but he hadn't shown up in months.

Anne smiled wryly. "I wish I could tell you that menopause was something to look forward to, but all it gave me was hot flashes and less bladder control."

Sharon's eyes widened. "Wait, that gets even worse?" After having two children, she had noticeably weaker control, but other than a couple of small leaks here and there, it hadn't been a huge problem.

Anne nodded. "Something about losing hormones. I can go from barely needing to go to running to the bathroom like a 2 year old about to wet their pants in a matter of minutes. It comes out of _nowhere_."

"Fantastic." Sharon checked on Ricky periodically as she and Anne sat on the porch and talked, and she went inside to start dinner after Anne left. Spaghetti was Ricky's favorite, which she also liked because it was fast and easy, so she quickly got the sauce cooking on the stove before topping her wine glass off and going back to the porch.

After dinner, Sharon put her pajamas on and read and sipped another glass of wine on the couch as Ricky lay in her lap and watched _Home Alone_. He was starting to look drowsy when the movie was over and complaining of his arm hurting, so she decided to give him some more medicine and put him to bed. While his bath water was running, she got out a pair of clean underwear, pajamas, and a towel for him and covered his cast with a trash bag. "Call for me if you need any help, okay?"

When Ricky came out of the bathroom a little while later, there were some damp spots showing through his pajamas where he'd obviously had difficulty drying himself off but didn't want to ask for help. The older he got, the more he avoided his mom seeing him naked as much as possible. Sharon ran her hand through his wet hair and kissed his forehead. "It's been a tough day, huh? Want to sleep with me tonight?" Ricky nodded as he tried to suppress a yawn, so Sharon removed the trash bag from his arm and tucked him into her bed. "Goodnight, darling. I love you. Sweet dreams."

"G'night, Mommy," Ricky murmured, already drifting off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Sharon went to mass one Sunday morning and went to lunch with one of her friends from church. Andy had opted to go to the gym and run some errands instead, which was fine with her. She liked having that time to herself, and she wasn't in the mood for people at church to start asking questions about them dating, even her friends. It was dreary and a little colder than usual outside, and she was tempted to take a nap when she got home. She changed into leggings and her favorite sweatshirt and was ready to find a movie on TV and pass out on the couch when the pictures in the corner of the room caught her eye. There were so many of them, and looking through them had become addicting. She hadn't seen a lot of them in years. After finding something on TV, she settled on the couch with a cup of tea and a photo album, watching Emily and Ricky grow up before her eyes.

Andy came in a little while later and kissed her before sinking into the couch beside her. "I'm trying to remember what you look like sitting on the couch without one of those albums or a stack of pictures in your hand."

"I know. I just haven't looked at these in a long time." Sharon was in one of the more recent albums, and Emily's and Ricky's various teenage antics ran through her head, and she laughed as one morning in particular came to mind.

Andy gave her a confused look. "What?"

"Ricky's about fifteen in these pictures, and one morning I went to his room to make sure he was awake for school, and...Well, let's just say he was being a fifteen year old boy."

Andy cackled. "What?! He was..."

Sharon nodded. "Yes. He _was_..."

"That's hilarious. I bet he went limp in record time after _that_."

"Andy!"

"What? Being walked in on by your mom is a mood-killer if I've _ever_ heard one."

 **December 2004**

Emily was a sophomore in college and had just gotten home for Christmas Break, and Ricky was a sophomore in high school. With Emily's birthday being in September, they had actually been four school years apart, despite being only a little over three years apart in age. Emily's Christmas Break was longer, so Ricky still had a few days left of school before the holiday, and Sharon went upstairs one morning to make sure he was awake for school. More times than not, he turned his alarm off and went back to sleep, and it drove her crazy. She paused outside of his closed door and didn't hear anything, so she flung the door open in agitation and crossed the room. "Ricky! Get up _now_ —are you okay?" He was sitting on the floor with his back to her, and he was leaning against the side of his bed. He was moving, but she couldn't tell what he was doing. He looked like he was in pain, and he obviously hadn't heard her. "Ricky?! What—oh, my god!"

Ricky finally heard her and pulled his boxers up in a panic. He started to stand up out of instinct, but thought better of it and crouched beside his bed. "Mom, What the _hell_ are you doing in here?!"

"I'm sorry—I was making sure you were awake—Oh, my god." Sharon covered her eyes like that would erase the situation, but it just caused her to walk into his door frame as she got the hell out of his room as quickly as she could. "Ouch!"

"I'm trying to _sleep_ in here," Emily whined, stepping into the hall from her room. She looked from Sharon's mortified expression to Ricky's open bedroom door. "Oh, Mom... _Please_ tell me you didn't go in there unannounced." Sharon just nodded, too stunned to say anything. Emily rolled her eyes. "Rookie mistake."

Sharon went downstairs to dry her hair, with flaming cheeks and her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't angry. Just embarrassed. Logically, she knew that teenaged boys did that, but she'd never thought of Ricky in that context. In so many ways, he just seemed like an overgrown child. She detoured to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and a familiar figure standing in front of the open refrigerator made her want to vomit. Jack. Ugh, just when she thought this morning couldn't possibly get any worse. She'd rather walk in on Ricky walking the dog every morning for the rest of her life than stand in the kitchen with Jack for two seconds. He was wearing a suit, and his eyes were shockingly not bloodshot. Sharon had gone straight from her bathroom up to Ricky's room to make sure he was awake and hadn't been in the kitchen all morning, so there was no telling when he had arrived. She had no idea he was even back in LA and hadn't heard a word from him in over three years. He bounced between LA and Vegas, picking up contract work here and there, and she knew he sometimes had fairly lengthy stints in LA where he never tried to contact them. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?" For him to show up so early in the morning, he had to have been in LA for at least a couple of days.

"Last I checked, my name was still on the mortgage." Jack got a carton of milk and closed the refrigerator door. "You know, in some cultures, people start with 'Good Morning.'" She was usually cold with him at first when he came back, but she'd never been this icy before.

"Good _Morning_ , last _I_ checked, you hadn't made a payment on said mortgage in years."

"Well, I've been sober for over a month now, and I've gotten some work through the appointment list at the courthouse in the last couple of weeks, and...I want to come home, Sharon. I miss you and the kids. I'll do this court-appointment gig long enough to get on my feet, and then I can open my own practice."

Yeah, Sharon had heard _that_ song and dance too many times to count. The last time he came home, he'd stayed for three months instead of his usual few weeks, and she'd actually thought that he was really going to stay that time. It was the longest he'd ever stayed since he left the first time. He'd actually gotten his own practice off the ground and was on the road to success that time, but he started drinking again, gave it up, and left town. Again. The only thing that had stayed with her had required a cervical culture and a round of antibiotics. Sharon tilted her head. "Oh? For how long this time? Three weeks instead of two? I'll order your father-of-the-year plaque, now."

"I'm serious this time, Sharon."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You've been _serious_ every time." She poured a cup of coffee before the conversation could go any further. Dealing with Jack before coffee was never a good idea.

"Is Emily home yet?" Jack asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Yes, but you'll have to excuse her if she doesn't jump into your arms. It's been three _years_ , Jack! You've missed two proms, her senior ballet recital, her high school graduation, and leaving for college."

Ricky came in the kitchen a few minutes later, dressed for school. He tried to look stonefaced when he saw Jack, and Sharon didn't blame him. He soon broke into a smile, though, despite trying his best not to, and she couldn't blame him for _that_ , either. As angry as she always was with Jack, she still loved the way he used to be, and he was comfortable and familiar. While Jack and Ricky were hugging and greeting each other, Sharon thought about how much had changed since the last time Jack was home. Ricky had grown several inches and towered over both of them now. Snapping back to reality, Sharon realized she had to finish getting dressed and get Ricky to school and herself to work. While Ricky was eating breakfast, she took her coffee into her room to finish getting dressed. She already had her makeup on, so she quickly dried her hair and put on her favorite work dress. After gathering her things and Ricky, she said an icy goodbye to Jack and left.

 **Back to Present**

Lost in her thoughts, Sharon didn't realize she'd stopped turning the pages of the album. That particular return of Jack's had been the first time she hadn't eventually allowed him into her bedroom, both literally and figuratively. After a humiliating visit to her family doctor for what she thought was a UTI and perhaps the beginning stages of a bacterial infection Ricky had been sick with the week before, she'd resolved not to let Jack back into her bed again, if and when he ever came back. She did that every time he left again, but she knew it would stick that time. It wasn't that she thought he was being celibate while he was away. Hell, she wasn't, either. She should've thought to make him use protection, but having her tubes tied had given her a false sense of security. Pregnancy had been her main concern with using protection before, and STDs simply hadn't occurred to her. It hadn't even been a discussion with the other men she'd been with; they'd provided their own and assumed it was a requirement. But, given the timing of her symptoms, Jack had obviously been with someone else while they were together, which wasn't okay with her. While she wanted him to see Emily and Ricky as much as he was willing and sober, she knew she needed to cut him off on the bedroom side of things when he was home. He always managed to wear her down, though, and charm his way into her bed. Until he gave her a damn STD. That had been the nail in the coffin for their sexual activities.

"What?" Andy asked, noticing her change in demeanor. He took her hand and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"Just...Thinking." Sharon had never told Andy about this before. She'd never planned on telling anyone, but she'd also never planned on being in a long-term relationship again. She and Andy were getting to the stage in their relationship where she should probably start telling him things like this, but _my ex-husband gave me the clap one time_ didn't exactly come up naturally in conversation. She knew a lot more about his past than he did about hers. She knew that this part of her past wouldn't affect their relationship in any way, but they were in the stage where they were growing to know each other on a deeper, more personal level. Revealing this to Andy would definitely be a step in that direction. Sharon took a deep breath. "The same morning that started a two-week period of Ricky not being able to look me in the eye, Jack came home after being gone for three years. He came and went, usually for only a few weeks at a time, for most of Emily's and Ricky's childhoods. I let him back into the house every time, because part of me thought he might stay for good, but mostly because Emily and Ricky needed whatever kind of relationship they could get with him. Until this time, I had also eventually let him back with _me_ ," she said meaningfully.

Andy nodded. He could understand that. When Jack was sober, he was probably like a comfortable old friend, and, hell, the woman had needs. He could imagine Jack being charming enough to get her defenses down. "So, what changed your mind this time?"

Sharon sighed. "A trip to the doctor that ended with a prescription for antibiotics for Chlamydia."

Andy's eyes widened. "Are you _serious_?!" He pulled Sharon into his arms. "I knew Jack was a dirtbag, but you've just downgraded my opinion of him. I am so sorry." Sharon placed the album she'd been looking through on the floor and curled up against Andy, letting her mind drift back.

 **November 2001**

Sharon stood at the kitchen counter one Monday morning, still in her pajamas, making Emily's and Ricky's lunches for the day. The pelvic pain, having to pee more often than normal along with the pain that came with it, fatigue, and light fever she'd experienced for most of the weekend had had her in denial of having another UTI, but after waking up and adding body aches and a sore throat to her list of complaints, she knew she had to go to the doctor. She might've picked up the bacterial infection Ricky had stayed home with for most of the week before. Either way, she'd need an antibiotic. She'd been Lieutenant for a few years and now had her sights set on Captain, so she hated to call out of work again after staying home with Ricky for most of the previous week, but going to work with a UTI wasn't happening. She hadn't had one in a few years, but the increased sexual activity with Jack being home had probably triggered this one. Damn Jack. She'd found one of his trademark notes on Friday morning, and she'd ripped it up without opening the envelope. She knew he was gone, and she wasn't interested in his explanations or how sorry he was. He'd been home for three months and was doing really well, both with work and sobriety, and she'd foolishly thought that he really had changed this time. Instead, she was now a mixture of sad and pissed off and had a couple of days of not being able to pee without wanting to cry ahead of her. Asshole.

Ricky came into the kitchen with a forced slow gait and falsely-miserable eyes a few minutes after she'd yelled upstairs for him to get up. "Mom, I still don't feel good," he mumbled, obviously trying to make his voice sound scratchy.

"Oh, so that's why you were on the trampoline or playing Nintendo for most of the afternoon yesterday? You're fine, Ricky. Go get in the shower."

"Crap!" Ricky stomped out of the kitchen.

A little while later, Emily and Ricky came down for breakfast. Sharon retrieved Ricky's prescription bottle from the windowsill over the sink and handed him a pill. "I _still_ have to take this?!" He moaned. "I'm not sick anymore!"

"You still have to finish the prescription so it won't come back," Sharon explained, not for the first time, as she got a glass of water for him.

Ricky was oblivious to the fact that Sharon was still in her pajamas and hadn't showered, but Emily noticed right away. "Mom? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Em. I'm just not feeling too well. I'm going to take you guys to school and come back home."

Ricky looked up from his cereal. "Did I get you sick?"

Sharon smiled. "I don't know, honey," she answered honestly. "But it's okay if you did." She leaned against the counter, just wanting to take the kids to school so she could come home, take a hot bath, and camp out on the couch with the _Today Show_ and the heating pad. She went to her room to put a bra on under her t-shirt and trade her pajama pants for sweatpants so she'd be ready to go the second they were finished with breakfast. An hour later, she was back home and making a doctor's appointment for that afternoon while her bath filled up. When she got off of the phone, she undressed and climbed into her bath with a small sigh of relief. When she had to pee for what seemed like the millionth time in the last couple of days, she begrudgingly got out and dried herself off. A couple of minutes later, she was on the couch in her softest pajamas with her bed pillow and favorite blanket. Her head felt heavier than it had the day before, and she was starting to get chills, so she figured her fever had gone up a little bit. She plugged the heating pad in beside the couch and held it to her stomach while she lay on the couch and watched TV until she had to get ready for her appointment. She didn't have the energy to wash and blowdry her hair, so she took another bath, pulled her hair up, and spritzed some hairspray through it instead.

A little while later, Sharon's name was being called by a nurse. "All right, Mrs. Raydor, it looks like you have some UTI symptoms, so we'll go ahead and get a urine sample," she said, handing Sharon a small cup and pointing her in the direction of a restroom. Sharon had anticipated that, so she hadn't peed before she left the house, and it was starting to get urgent. Once that was taken care of and her weight and vitals had been taken, she was in a patient room by herself, waiting for the doctor to come in. A few minutes later, she heard a soft knock on the door before it opened. "Hi, Sharon," Dr. Jameson greeted. "I thought Ricky might have claimed a victim when I saw your name, but it looks like we're dealing with another UTI," she commented as she flipped through Sharon's chart.

Sharon nodded. "Hi, Maggie." Her son and Ricky were friends, and Sharon and Maggie were kind-of-but-not-really friends, but they were friendly enough to be on a first-name basis. Maggie seemed more like a doctor than a personal acquaintance, though, which was fine with her, since her urine would soon be the topic of conversation. "My throat actually started hurting this morning, too, if you don't mind checking that while I'm here."

"No problem. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. It'll be a few more minutes before I have the results from your urine sample, anyway." Maggie looked back down at Sharon's chart. "Your temperature is a little higher than I'd like to see for a UTI, so it's possible. Lie back against the table, and we'll get this part over with first." Sharon obeyed and stretched her legs out as Maggie pulled the extension out. Maggie asked several questions about her symptoms over the last couple of days as she gently prodded against her stomach, and Sharon winced as she gently pressed against the lower part. She usually had abdominal pain with a UTI, but not enough to react during this part of the exam. Maggie gave her a concerned look, but didn't say anything as she continued examining her.

"All right, let me peek in your throat and see what's going on there." Sharon sat up as Maggie pushed the table extension back in and opened her mouth. "Your throat is a little inflamed, but it's probably too soon for a throat culture to tell me anything helpful if it just started this morning. Ricky's throat culture came back this morning, by the way. It wasn't Strep, and the antibiotic I prescribed for him targets the bacteria that made him sick. He will need to finish it." She had told Sharon that if no bacteria showed up, then he would need to stop taking the antibiotic, but that she'd let her know one way or the other. "I saw your name on my schedule, so I didn't have a nurse call you." Sharon nodded. The in-office rapid Strep test had been negative on Thursday, but the severity of Ricky's symptoms had indicated a bacterial culprit, so she had prescribed an antibiotic that targeted the most likely non-strep causes while his throat culture was sent off for testing. Maggie tucked her pen light away a few moments later and softly moved her fingers along Sharon's neck, under her chin. "One of your lymph nodes is a little swollen, too. Your urine culture should be ready, so I'll see what I find out from that, and we'll go from there. We may be able to knock out both of these with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. I'll be right back."

Maggie came back in a few minutes later with a perplexed expression on her face. "Okay, Sharon, I just have a few more questions, and I'll try to get you finished up."

"Okay," Sharon answered, with a note of inquiry in her voice. That had never happened before. This was usually the part where a UTI diagnosis was confirmed, and she was given a prescription for an antibiotic and could go home.

"Have you had any unusual discharge lately? Or spotting?"

Now that she thought about it, Sharon realized that she had, but she couldn't see what that had to do with anything. "Yes. A little of both."

"Was your last menstrual cycle painful? Or more painful than usual?" Sharon shook her head. "Have you been sexually active recently? I'm sorry, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Realization was starting to hit Sharon, but she was in denial. "Yes. Jack was home for a while, and..." It wasn't any of anyone's business, but she'd rather Maggie not think she was sleeping around.

"Is it possible that he had any other partners during that time?"

Sharon was starting to get annoyed. What kind of question was _that_?! She hadn't been with him 24 hours a day. She didn't know of anyone else he'd been with, but it was _possible_. It was also _possible_ that Maggie's perfect husband who cooked and cleaned and took care of their kids was currently banging his perfect secretary on his perfect desk at his perfect job. Not that she would ever wish that on anyone, but it was _possible_. Okay, now she was being petty, but she couldn't help but feel a little judged by other moms sometimes. Her "husband" was rarely home, and now he'd not only cheated on her in the short window of time where he _had_ been home, but had possibly given her an STD. This was a nightmare. "Not that I'm aware of," she finally said. "But I guess it's possible." She knew Maggie wasn't being nosy and that she had to ask these questions, but it was humiliating. If she'd even suspected that this was the problem, she would've gone to her gynecologist she sees once a year, in his office and nowhere else, instead.

"Okay. You don't have a UTI, but your urine culture wasn't normal, either. It suggested Chlamydia or Gonorrhea, but I'll need to do a cervical swab for more specific testing...I can get another doctor for that if you're not comfortable with me."

Sharon shook her head. "No, it's fine." She'd normally be embarrassed to have someone she knew outside of the doctor's office do that, but she'd tapped out with _your mostly-absent husband cheated on you and gave you an STD_. This was nothing compared to that. She appreciated how matter-of-fact Maggie was being with it, like she was talking about a sinus infection or something, but was still being friendly without sounding patronizing. God, she was going to castrate Jack with her bare hands.

Maggie retrieved a paper sheet from a cabinet. "Just take your bottoms off for me and drape this over your legs..." She paused, remembering that Sharon had complained of a sore throat. "Will I need to swab anywhere else?" She asked tactfully.

Sharon had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Has anywhere else possibly been exposed?" Maggie clarified. "A sore throat is a symptom of oral—"

"No, no, I won't need anything else," Sharon quickly interrupted, seeing what she was getting at.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sharon left the doctor's office a little while later, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She managed to get to her car before she broke down into tears. Jack had already done enough damage, why this?! When she'd calmed down enough to drive home, she stopped at the pharmacy to fill a prescription for an antibiotic that would likely target both a bacterial throat infection and whatever brand of hell Jack had transmitted to her. Once her culture came back, it was possible she'd need to get another antibiotic, but she wouldn't know for a couple of days.

Ricky was dropped off at home after school a little while after Sharon got home. She was back on the couch, in the same position she'd spent most of the morning. "Hi, honey, how was school?"

"I'm going to be doing make-up work _forever_ ," he moaned. Sharon had had to pick him up early at school on Tuesday the week before when he started feeling sick, so she imagined that three and a half days' worth of middle school work would take some time. "Are you still sick?"

"Yes, but it shouldn't last too long." Ricky went upstairs to change clothes and start his homework, and Sharon drifted off for a nap, fantasizing about hanging Jack by his testicles and leaving him to rot.

 **I know, I know, this probably seemed a little out there, but I can see something like this happening. I'll be back to my normal fluffy nonsense after this, though. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Andy got in the shower one Saturday morning, disgusted yet again to find a clump of long, dark, wet hair in the drain. It didn't happen every morning, but he was probably met with that sight more times than not. How Sharon had any hair left on her head was a mystery to him. It fell out by the handful. It was sweet to find stray hairs on his pillow, stuck to his clothes, or on his desk after she'd been sitting on it to talk to him, but a large clump of it in the shower drain was repulsive. It looked like someone with a bad toupee had drowned in the drain. He got a wad of toilet paper and fished it out before slipping his robe on and going into the kitchen, where Sharon was getting breakfast for herself. "Say what you want about me leaving the toilet seat up, but this is just disgusting," he said, holding up the clump of hair in his hand. "How do you have so much hair, anyway? It's like you get a fresh supply overnight. It's everywhere."

Sharon bit her lip and gave Andy a sheepish look. Rusty always complained when she left her hair in the drain, and she really did try to remember to get it out, that just didn't always happen. "I'm sorry, Andy." She took it from him and tossed it in the garbage can. "I really do try to remember to get it." She looked up at him with remorseful eyes before placing her hands on his cheeks and pulling him down for a kiss.

"This isn't fair, you're a lot cuter than I am," Andy mumbled against her lips. As beautiful as Sharon was when she was dressed and fixed up, it wasn't even close to seeing her first thing in the morning before she'd bothered to put her glasses or a bra on with wrinkled pajamas, no makeup, and her eyes still drowsy from sleep.

"Hmm?" Sharon deepened the kiss before he could say anything else, and he forgot what they'd been talking about. He couldn't help but reach under her gown and cup her breast during the process.

"Oh, come on, you guys, there's _food_ in here!" Sharon and Andy hastily pulled apart and turned to face a horrified Rusty.

Sharon quickly straightened her nightgown and smoothed her hair. "Morning, honey. You're up early."

"Yeah, I was supposed to go over to Gus's later, but he has to go to work earlier than he planned, so we're going to get breakfast really quick...Oh, god, this is so disturbing." He grabbed his keys and left.

A few minutes later, Andy was stepping out of the shower, eager to pick up where they left off, now that they unexpectedly had the condo to themselves. He was hoping to find Sharon in the bedroom, but it was empty. Her nightgown was in the hamper, though, so _that_ was good news. He found her in the living room, but the discovery of her nightgown hadn't meant what he hoped. She was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and an LAPD sweatshirt that had been washed so many times that it looked ready to fall apart. Those damn pictures were out again, and she was flipping through an album. She was wearing her glasses now, so he knew the moment had passed for her. Still hopeful, he sat beside her and pushed her hair back as he nipped at the sensitive spot on her neck. "Not now, Andy," Sharon said distractedly.

"Come on, who knows when we'll have the place to ourselves again!" Andy protested.

Sharon sighed. "I know. I just don't want Rusty to think we tear our clothes off the second he leaves the condo."

"How will he know?!"

"I know it doesn't make sense, but being interrupted earlier just made me feel guilty. No one wants to see their mom like that. And then I started folding laundry and found these pajama pants, and then the pictures caught my eye, so I wanted to do that, and..." Sharon gave him a playful look and pecked him on the lips. "I'll do you later."

"You drive a hard bargain." Andy kissed the side of her head and looked at the pictures along with her as she turned the pages. Emily looked like she was five or six, and Ricky was still a toddler, at two and a half or three. The album had started with pictures of Ricky as a baby and Emily in preschool, and as they gradually grew older in front of their eyes, Sharon's mood had markedly changed. By the time the diaper bulge had disappeared from under Ricky's clothes, she was almost in tears. Andy wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "What's the matter?"

Sharon nestled into his shoulder and swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry. This is just the age that Emily and Ricky were when Jack left the first time." Her eyes had a faraway look to them, and Andy could tell that she was remembering something specific. It obviously wasn't pleasant. "He looked so...frightened."

Andy was confused. "Who? Jack?"

Sharon shook her head. "Ricky. The night before Jack left, I had to work later than usual, and I asked him to pick up Ricky from daycare before it closed, and I got Emily from ballet. Ricky was barely potty-trained, and he still sometimes got too involved with what he was doing and had accidents. Jack had probably been alone with him for less than an hour when I got home, but..." Andy gently guided her head to his shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair as sobs began to wrack her body. "I'll never forget the look on Ricky's face when I got home. Jack was obviously drunk and was yelling at him and shaking him..." Sharon took a few moments to compose herself and relaxed against Andy as she began to tell him about it.

 ** _October 1991_**

Sharon barely got away from work in time to pick up Emily at ballet. She had just turned six, and Ricky was three months away from turning three. After picking up take-out for dinner, they headed home. Sharon could hear Ricky screaming from the garage the second she got out of the car. Forgetting dinner and her purse for the time being, she ran inside with Emily close behind her. Jack was blurry-eyed, red faced, and screaming, and Ricky was sobbing and looked terrified as Jack roughly handled him. " _Mommy_!" Ricky screamed, sounding panicked, when Sharon came in. She sprinted across the room and took him from Jack.

" _Jack_! What the _hell_ are you doing?!" Ricky clutched onto Sharon for dear life, and she held him close and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. He was pressed against her as close as he could get. His pants were soaked and were now getting her wet, too, but that was the last thing she was worried about. He'd cut way back on the accidents recently and was doing pretty well, so she'd skip the _don't wait until it's too late to go potty_ talk this time. "Em, honey, go start your bath. I'll come wash your hair and help you finish bathing in a few minutes."

"But Mommy—"

" _Now_."

Emily dropped her backpack on the couch and went to Sharon's and Jack's bathroom to start her bath, knowing better than to argue with _that_ tone. Ricky was still sobbing, and Sharon sat in the recliner with him cradled in her arms and rubbed his back as she rocked him. "What the _hell_ , Jack?!" She hissed.

"He pissed his pants!" Jack slurred angrily.

"He's only two! He'll probably _piss his pants_ every now and then for a few more months! That's no reason to yell at him, much less hurt him!" She had a lot more to say to him, but that would have to wait until the children were asleep. Ricky was trembling in her arms, and Sharon was starting to cry right along with him. What the hell was Jack so pissed off about, anyway?! She'd be the one stuck with cleaning the wet carpet and toddler, not him. "You're okay, sweetheart," Sharon crooned as she tried to soothe the bawling child in her arms. She gently pressed his head against her shoulder and stroked his cheek. Ricky grasped at her hair and curled into her, still terrified.

"Didn't—mean—to—pee-pee, Mommy," Ricky gasped out in staggered breaths.

"I know you didn't, honey. You just tried to hold it a little too long, huh?" Ricky wordlessly buried his face into Sharon's shoulder. She held him tight and scratched his back until he finally started to calm down.

"Mommy!" Emily called impatiently from the bathroom.

"I'm coming, baby." Sharon went to the kitchen and got a handful of paper towels and a bottle of club soda. Ricky's arms were wrapped around her neck in a death grip. She found the darkened area of carpet near the corner of the living room with some of Ricky's toys and blotted up as much as she could before pouring some club soda over the stain. She could finish up with the carpet cleaner later. "All right, sweetheart, let's get you cleaned up." She found a pack of wet wipes and carried Ricky to her bathroom to clean him up and help Emily with the rest of her bath. "I'll be just a second, Em." Sharon put Ricky on the floor and peeled his soaked pants off of him. He held on to her shoulders for balance, still sniffling and looking upset. Sharon kissed his forehead and pulled his shirt over his head, then started cleaning him up with the wet wipes.

"You're supposed to pee-pee in the _potty_ , Ricky," Emily said condescendingly a few moments later, not appreciating having her bath prolonged because her dumb brother wet his pants again.

"It wasn't so long ago that I was having to tell you the same thing, young lady," Sharon chastised as she moved from Ricky's feet to his hands with the wet wipes. They got him clean enough to last until she gave him a bath after dinner. She rinsed his pants and underwear out in the sink, got one of her LAPD t-shirts out of her room, and slipped it over his head. "You are the cutest little LAPD detective I've ever seen! I'll go get you some clean undies after I help Emmy, okay?" Sharon quickly washed Emily's hair and started rinsing it out.

"Why did I have to take a bath _before_ dinner?" Emily complained.

Sharon filled the cup she used to wash their hair with clean water and carefully poured it over Emily's hair. "I just had to talk to Daddy for a minute. I'm sorry I snapped at you, honey, you didn't do anything wrong." Emily got out a few minutes later, and Sharon handed her a towel. "I'll go get some pjs for you while you dry off." She got a clean pair of panties and pajamas for Emily and underwear for Ricky out of the laundry room, changed her own clothes, helped Emily finish drying off, and brushed her hair out. "All right. Put your pjs on, and let's go eat."

Sharon was still seething at Jack, but she made it through dinner without incident. If she had to guess, he'd been drinking before he even picked up Ricky. She knew he probably didn't pick him up until the latest possible second before daycare closed, and he wouldn't have had enough time to get home and drink enough to be this drunk without drinking beforehand. She could handle it when his drinking made him yell at her or kept him from helping her with the children, but driving with one of them in the car when he'd been drinking majorly crossed the line. The evening had gotten a late start, so it was almost Ricky's bedtime by the time they finished eating. Sharon gave the stain in the carpet a more thorough cleaning, helped him brush his teeth, and gave him a bath while Emily watched TV in the living room. Once he was clean, she lifted him out and gently dried him off before sitting him on the toilet. "Try to potty one more time while I get your pjs, okay?" Ricky wasn't even close to staying dry overnight yet. Sharon had learned with Emily that there wasn't much she or Emily could do to quicken that process, so she wasn't going to worry about it for a while. Once he was in his nighttime diaper and pajamas, she gathered him in her arms. "Which book do you want to read?" She asked as she carried him to his room.

"Fer'nand!"

" _How_ did I know?" _Ferdinand_ had been Ricky's choice more times than not in the last few months, and Sharon could probably recite it with her eyes closed. She sat in the rocking chair in Ricky's room with him in her lap and began to read. As she neared the end, Ricky's thumb slipped into his mouth, and his eyes were growing heavy. " _And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly. He is very happy._ " Sharon closed the book and replaced it in the basket beside the rocking chair. This was usually the point where she would rock him for a couple of minutes, but tuck him into bed before he was asleep. After the traumatic evening, though, she decided to rock him to sleep. She kissed his forehead and turned him around so he could lie on her shoulder. "Night-night, darling boy. I love you."

"Love you, Mommy." Ricky lay on Sharon's shoulder and slowly drifted off to sleep to her soft humming as she rocked him and scratched his back. She held him for a few minutes after his breathing evened out and his body felt heavy against her, signaling that he was asleep. The dim room, with only a lamp for light, and the sleeping toddler in her arms discouraged her from getting up anytime soon. She knew she had to get Emily in bed and eventually face Jack, so she reluctantly tucked him into bed, turned the lamp off, and made sure his night-light was on before leaving the room and going to check on Emily.

"All right, Em, as soon as _Full House_ is over, it'll be time to get ready for bed." Sharon cleaned the kitchen and gulped down a glass of wine. Jack was sitting on the porch, undoubtedly with another drink in his hand. She refilled her glass and sat in the recliner in the living room. Emily moved from the couch and squeezed into the chair beside her, nestling into her as Sharon wrapped her arm around her and kissed the side of her head. She sipped her wine and watched TV as Emily lay against her. She'd obviously picked up on the fact that something wasn't quite right. The older Emily got, the more careful she and Jack had to be about fighting in front of her.

"Mommy?"

"Hmm?" Sharon took another sip of wine, bracing herself for Emily's question, having no idea exactly how much she had picked up on.

"How can someone be bad at kissing?" Emily asked, nodding to the TV screen where DJ was commiserating with Kimmy about the rumor going around school that she was a bad kisser. "I mean, it's easy to kiss!" She pecked Sharon on the arm. "See? How could anyone be bad at that? It's so easy!"

Sharon chuckled, relieved at the innocent question. "I think someone was just saying that to be mean." A little while later, the show was going off. "Go get ready for bed, and I'll come tuck you in." Sharon made Emily's lunch for the next day and checked her toothbrush and the bathroom sink to make sure she had brushed her teeth. Emily was sitting up in bed with the newest _Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister_ book open in her lap. "Did you go potty?" Sharon asked as she sat beside Emily on her bed.

" _Yes_ , Mommy," Emily answered, sounding annoyed. It had been months since her last accident, but the same had been true the last time she wet her bed. She'd been mostly reliable overnight since she was about three and a half, but she still had occasional accidents for a couple of years after that. Sharon didn't know if they were officially out of the woods for that yet or not.

" _Okay_ , Emmy," Sharon said, mocking her annoyed tone. "What's this one about? _Karen's Little Witch_? That sounds a little scary."

"It's not. Morbidda Destiny's granddaughter has to stay with her for a while, and Karen thinks she's a witch, too." Emily rolled her eyes. "Karen is _so_ dramatic."

Sharon choked back a laugh and turned the lamp on beside Emily's bed. "It sounds like it. Lights out at 9:00, okay?" Emily nodded absently, her attention back on her book. "I love you, sweetheart. Sweet dreams." She kissed her forehead and tucked the covers around her before turning the overhead light off and leaving the room. A long bath and a third glass of wine later, she made sure Emily was asleep before going to face Jack on the porch. She should've known better than to try to talk to him while he was so drunk. After a fruitless argument, she locked herself in their bedroom with what remained of the bottle of wine she'd opened earlier and read as she sipped her wine, trying to calm herself down. She didn't give the tiniest fuck if Jack needed anything out of their room. She'd been angry with him before, but putting their children in danger like he'd done was a deeper anger than she'd ever felt before. And it made her wonder if he'd done it before without her knowing about it.

The next morning, Sharon expected to find an apologetic Jack cooking breakfast in the kitchen, prepared to charm his way back into her good graces, as she often did after such an argument. He was still asleep on the couch, though, and when she got home from work that night, she'd found an envelope with her name on it on the kitchen counter and no trace of Jack.

 **Back to Present**

"My _god_ ," Andy commented when Sharon finished speaking. "I'd call him a dirtbag, but that's insulting to dirtbags." He tenderly wiped away the tears that were streaming down Sharon's face again.

"I haven't thought about that night in a long time." Sharon looped her arm around Andy's and laced her fingers through his.

Andy brushed her hair back and softly kissed the side of her head. "I knew you were tough as nails, but damn."


	8. Chapter 8

**For those of you who enjoy this story, I apologize for the delay in updating. I got some rude and downright mean comments on the last chapter, and it discouraged me from writing for a while. Thanks to all of you who have sent encouraging messages when I didn't update after a while.**

 **There is a tame oral sex scene at the end, but if you're uncomfortable with that, you'll be able to tell when it's coming. Please just skip it if you don't want to read it. This was inspired by a conversation with MkSC about some comments she'd gotten on similar scenes, so I decided to join the party :).**

 **In an effort to reduce the rude comments, I'm going to include a summary for each chapter as I post updates to make it easy to decide whether you want to read or not. :)**

 **Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing!**

One Monday evening after work, Andy walked Sharon to her car before they went their separate ways for the night. Andy had a meeting, he'd been at the condo for most of the previous week and weekend, was out of clean clothes, and he needed to do some things around his house, so they were spending the next few nights apart. He kissed Sharon before reluctantly heading to his own car. "I love you. See you in the morning."

"Good Night, Andy. Love you." Sharon left the parking garage and picked up take-out for her and Rusty on the way home. This was the first time since Andy had started being a frequent overnight guest that she didn't feel a little relieved that they were spending the night apart. She loved having him at the condo, but they were still at the stage in their relationship where things got awkward with sharing such a small space sometimes, so she was usually glad to be able to relax and have a little time apart.

After dinner, Sharon and Rusty watched _Badge of Justice_ at its rightful time for once, since they didn't have to hide it from Andy. She'd watched a few episodes when Mike started consulting for the show, just to have enough to talk to him about to show that she supported him, but she'd unexpectedly gotten hooked. Rusty had quickly followed suit. Since Andy had been around more frequently, they'd been DVRing it and watching it when Andy was either asleep or not there. He didn't do much with DVR, so he wasn't likely to find it before they watched and deleted it, but it wouldn't really matter if he did. The secrecy was really to avoid him making fun of them, and it was kind of fun for Sharon and Rusty to share this harmless secret. He hadn't complained about Andy's increased presence, but Sharon had a feeling he felt a little left out sometimes.

During the first commercial break, a commercial for yeast infection treatment came on, and Sharon was reminded of Emily being three and ratting her out for not having any panties on in front of her commanding officer. Looking back, it was a pretty funny story, but it had been humiliating at the time.

 **November 1988**

Sharon picked Emily up from preschool one evening, seven months pregnant with Ricky, and realized she needed to go back to the station. She had a yeast infection, and she'd taken her panties off earlier that day for a little bit of relief, but she'd left them in one of her desk drawers. She had a doctor's appointment the next day, anyway, so she'd just get it taken care of then. She highly doubted that anyone would go through her desk, but it still made her nervous. St. Joseph's wasn't far from the station, so she went back really quickly to get them with a three-year-old Emily in tow. She was on her way back out, panties safely stashed in her purse, when her commanding officer stopped her to talk about something. He was going on and on, and Emily was getting restless and playing with the hem of Sharon's dress. As long as she stayed quiet and didn't pull her dress up too far, Sharon didn't really pay attention to what she was doing.

When her commanding officer finally started to sound like he was wrapping up, Emily gasped dramatically. " _Mommy_! You're not wearing any panties!"

Sharon's face flushed to a deep crimson, and she hurriedly disentangled Emily from her dress. "Yes, I _am_ , Emily, but Captain Lewis doesn't need to know about—"

"You are not!" Emily protested. "I saw your—"

"Let's _go_ , Em," Sharon interrupted, her face flaming.

Captain Lewis was struggling to hold back his laughter by this point. "I'm really sorry, I'm not laughing at you. My children are older than Emily, but I remember quite well living in fear of what was going to come out of their mouths next at this age. You guys have a great evening."

"Thanks, Captain," Sharon muttered. He headed back to his office, and Sharon led Emily to the bathroom. With Emily barely being three and Sharon being in the later stages of pregnancy, it wasn't a good idea for either one of them to drive in L.A. traffic without going to the bathroom first.

"Mommy, I've been thinking," Emily announced seriously as they drove home.

"About what?"

Emily crossed her arms. "I've decided I don't want a little brother. Ashley has one, and she said he stinks and cries a lot."

Given Emily's frequent tantrums and occasional neglect to make the toilet a priority over her toys, the same could sometimes still be said for her, but Sharon kept her mouth shut about that. "I'm sorry, honey, but you'll have a baby brother soon, whether you like it or not. He can't stay in Mommy's tummy forever." Sharon was tired, uncomfortable, and quickly growing impatient.

"Why not?"

Sharon sighed. "Because Mommy would lose her mind."

Emily looked thoughtful. "Well, I don't want you to lose your mind, Mommy. You know a lot of stuff."

"Aww, thanks, honey." Sharon smiled, feeling bad for getting impatient. At this age, Emily could go from being so exasperating that Sharon wanted to scream to being so sweet that she wanted to cry in the same breath.

 **Back to Present**

Sharon giggled to herself as she thought about that evening.

Rusty looked over at her. "What?"

"I was just thinking about when I was pregnant with Ricky, and Emily told me she didn't want a little brother. Looking at pictures recently has reminded me of a lot of things like that." Sharon spared him the 'yeast infection and going commando' part of all of that.

Later that night, Andy called as Sharon was reading in bed. They chatted for a few minutes, and Andy said something about how he was doing laundry. " _Please_ tell me you washed your robe," Sharon said. It had been a while since it had been washed, and it was starting to get dingy.

"I did, but now it doesn't smell like you anymore. It's useless." Sharon rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. "I, uh...Don't like going to bed without you," Andy said quietly.

"I'm not a huge fan of you not being here, myself," Sharon admitted. Normally, she would've been looking forward to having her bed to herself, but it had gotten to where that wasn't worth going without Andy being there to kiss her goodnight and good morning. And the occasional fun in between.

A couple of weeks later, Sharon felt the beginnings of a migraine coming on at work one morning. When her face started to feel numb and her office light seemed too painfully bright, she knew she didn't have much time to get herself home before she was out of commission. They'd decreased in frequency as she'd gotten older, and she hadn't had one in several years, so she'd thought she was finally done with them. Apparently not. After quickly gathering her things, she stepped into the murder room. "I'm getting a migraine, so I'm going home for the day," she announced to the room at large. She left amidst a chorus of well wishes and offers to help, and she could hear Andy's footsteps behind her as she approached the elevator.

"I'll take you ho—"

"No, Andy, I'm okay. And please go home tonight. I'll be fine, but I'd like to be left alone. I'm just going to take some medicine and go to bed." Sharon didn't know whether Andy would annoy her and hover over her or be a typical man and ignore her completely, but she could see either one of those options being the case. Andy had liked for her to be with him and do things for him when he was sick recently, but she was the opposite. A migraine was probably one of the worst conditions for her to be in when she found out whether he would grate on her nerves or not, so she just wanted him to stay away for the time being. She'd also rather him not witness her inevitable vomit. She knew Rusty was working on a paper at home that morning, and he knew what she would need, but would otherwise stay away. As self-involved as he usually was, he was surprisingly helpful when she was sick, and he had lived with her long enough to know when to help her and when to leave her alone. She and Andy didn't have that system yet, and migraines always made her irritable and snappy, so it wasn't the best time for him to start learning it.

Andy started to speak again, but Sharon gave him a warning look that practically made his testicles jump up into his body. He gently kissed her cheek when a soft ding signaled the elevator's arrival. "Call me if you need anything."

Sharon texted Rusty that she had a migraine and was coming home so she wouldn't frighten him when she came inside. When she got home, she went straight to her room to change clothes and saw that the Tylenol PM and a glass of water were on her nightstand. She'd tried several different medicines before, both prescription and over the counter, but taking Tylenol PM and going to sleep for a few hours was the best remedy she'd found.

By the time Sharon had taken the medicine, changed into her pajamas, and climbed into bed, Rusty came in with a cold cloth. "Here, Mom. I'll be here for about another hour, so text me if you need something. Feel better."

"Thanks, honey." Sharon drew her knees up to her chest and pressed the cloth to her forehead, trying to stave off the waves of nausea that were coursing through her body. Before long, she gave in and staggered to the bathroom. She heard a soft clink as Rusty placed a fresh glass of water and cool cloth on the sink as she got sick, which she was grateful for when she was finished. After rinsing with the water and wiping her face and mouth with the cloth, she left the glass and cloth on the sink for round two and went back to bed. She was able to achieve a light doze, but she knew she'd probably get sick one more time before she was able to fall asleep more heavily. Sure enough, she found herself on the bathroom floor again some time later. She'd heard Rusty leave for class a while ago, so she was scared to death when the overhead light turned on. She whipped around as her breath caught in her throat, causing vomit to also get caught. She was relieved, but also pissed off, to see that it was Andy. After a few painful coughs, her stomach finally calmed down. The coughing and the light made her throbbing head even worse. "The _hell_ are you doing?!" Sharon hissed as she flushed the toilet and wiped her mouth. She'd gotten vomit on the toilet seat and the floor when Andy scared the hell out of her, so she wiped it up with toilet paper. She'd give it a better cleaning job with the bleach later.

"I'll clean up in here," Andy started.

" _No_ , you won't, because you're leaving. I'll see you tomorrow, as agreed."

"We didn't _agree_ , you just _ordered_."

"We're also not talking about this right now. I'm going to bed, and you're going back to work."

"You're sick, Sharon, I just wanted to—"

"I've been getting these since I was twelve, Andy, I can handle it perfectly fine on my own. I just need to get some sleep and for you to leave." Andy hadn't heard this level of anger in her tone before, in a personal matter, anyway, so he left, not knowing what else to do. Sharon rinsed her mouth out and took a few sips of water before getting back in bed, and she was unconscious before her head hit the pillow. She could feel guilty about Andy later.

Sharon woke up a few hours later feeling much better. Her stomach was a little unsettled, and she still had a little headache, but it was nothing like before. Some Tylenol, a mug of tea, and something light to eat would do the trick, and then she'd go to bed early and be as good as new the next morning. Even after sleeping for several hours, migraines always took a lot out of her, and being able to fall asleep that night wouldn't be a problem. After giving the bathroom a better cleaning job and washing her face, she brewed some tea for herself, took some Tylenol, curled up on the couch with her bed pillow and favorite blanket, and turned the TV on.

Rusty came in a little while later with a bag of take-out for dinner. "I got the chicken soup for you. It's the low-sodium kind."

"Thanks, honey." Sharon ate her soup and pulled out a photo album. Emily was in elementary school, and Sharon was pretty sure Ricky was still in preschool. There were several pictures of Ricky and Sharon's nieces and nephews playing in the snow in Park City, and she wondered where Emily was until she got to a picture of her lying on the couch with Sharon's mom, looking miserable. That was the year that she'd gotten Strep Throat right after Christmas, and she had a tonsillectomy a few months after that.

 **December 1993**

The day after Christmas, Sharon's brother, brother-in-law, and her dad took all of the children outside to play in the snow after breakfast. Sharon, her mom, and Alice and Laura, her sister and sister-in-law, lounged around the living room in their pajamas, sipping coffee. Sharon and her mom were on a couch, and Alice and Laura were stretched out in recliners. They'd been skiing for most of the week, but they had all agreed to take a break today. Everyone was staying until the day before New Years Eve, so they still had a couple of days left to ski. Sharon relaxed with her book, cozy with the gray winter shadows and the crackling fire in the room. Emily walked through a while later, but Sharon assumed she was going to the bathroom or was adding another layer of clothes until she came back out in her pajamas. She climbed into the nearest lap, which belonged to Alice. Emily had complained the night before about not skiing today and wasn't one to lie around, so all eyes were on her as she got comfortable against Alice.

Alice covered Emily with part of her blanket and brushed her messy hair out of her face. "Are you not feeling good?"

"Does your throat hurt, Em?" Sharon asked from the couch. With the craziness of breakfast with so many people that morning, she hadn't noticed Emily seeming out of sorts, but she could tell now that she didn't seem to feel very well.

Emily was a little overwhelmed with everyone looking at her, so she snuggled into Alice's side and didn't say anything. Alice put her arm around her and rested the back of her hand on her forehead. "She feels hot, Sharon."

Sharon walked over to them, leaned down, and kissed Emily's forehead. "She does have a fever. Is it your throat?" She asked again. Emily nodded. "I'll get you some medicine. Be right back." Sharon went to her room and got some children's Tylenol out of her suitcase.

When she came back into the living room, her mom was standing beside the chair and holding the thermometer in Emily's mouth. "102," the older Emily announced.

After giving Emily the medicine, Sharon switched places with Alice and got situated in the chair with Emily. "I'm sorry, baby," she murmured, cupping Emily's flushed cheek with her hand. "Mom? Do you know where Dr. Adams's number is?" Ricky had gotten sick in Park City a couple of years before, and Sharon had called around until she'd found a doctor that would do a new patient and sick visit on short notice.

"I think I know where it is," Laura spoke up. "I'll get it." She retrieved it from a drawer in the kitchen and brought it to Sharon. Laura gave Emily a sympathetic look and held her hand to her forehead. "Do you think it's the flu?" She asked nervously.

Sharon shook her head. "I don't think so. She's had Strep Throat several times this year, and she'll probably have to get her tonsils out." Sharon took the slip of paper from Laura, dialed the doctor's office from the phone beside the chair, and made an appointment for the next morning.

After lunch, Sharon took Ricky to her room and tried to get him settled down for a nap. It took a while, but he finally drifted off. Both Emilys were curled up on the couch, spooned together and sound asleep when Sharon got to the living room.

The next morning, Sharon and Emily were leaving for the doctor's office as almost everyone else was leaving for the slopes. Laura had promised to stick with Ricky. "I want to ski!" Emily whined, her hoarse voice barely audible.

"You don't feel good, honey, you won't have fun skiing," Sharon said.

"I'll make whatever you want for dinner tomorrow night," the older Emily promised. "You'll probably be feeling a little better by then." That didn't do much to appease the younger Emily, and she was still whining as Sharon got her purse and led her down to her rental car.

When Sharon and Emily got back from the doctor's office, Sharon gave her a dose of her antibiotic and settled in a chair with her once they were both back in their pajamas. "I'm cold," Emily whined. Sharon pulled the blanket down from the back of the chair, tucked it around Emily, and felt her forehead. Emily snuggled against her, and Sharon gently smoothed her fingers through her hair as she fell asleep against her.

 **Back to Present**

Andy started calling soon before Sharon was ready to go to bed, but she wasn't ready to talk to him. She finally texted him that she was okay, was going to bed early, and would talk to him the next day after work. She felt bad for being so grouchy with him, but that was precisely why she'd asked him to stay away in the first place. She'd told him she would be fine, which was true, and asked him in no uncertain terms not to come to the condo. As she stretched out under her covers, she realized that asking him not to come back tonight, even though she was mostly better, was also a good call. If he were beside her right now, just the sound of him breathing would probably annoy her, and there would inevitably have been at least one needless argument over the course of the evening.

The following morning, Sharon got to work early in an attempt to catch up on what she'd missed the day before. When Andy arrived, he came into her office and closed the door. "So, uh, I take it you're angry with me."

Sharon touched her nose like he'd guessed something correctly in _Charades_. She knew she'd get over it, and she'd optimistically put on his favorite lingerie that morning in hopes of make-up sex, but she was still angry that he didn't trust her judgment and had blatantly ignored her wishes to be left alone. What if the situation had been more embarrassing than it was? Despite their growing closeness, there were still some things for which she needed space and wasn't willing for Andy to be present for, vomiting being one of them.

Andy ran his hand over his face. "In my defense, you did give me a key—"

"And you abused it. I clearly asked you not to come, and you did, anyway. I'm a grown woman, Andy, I don't need you checking up on me, especially when I've specifically asked you not to." Sharon's face softened. "We'll be okay. Let's just talk after work. We both need some time to cool down and think things through."

Once everyone else left for the day, Andy went back to Sharon's office. "I'm sorry. You were right. But I didn't come yesterday because I thought you couldn't take care of yourself. You just don't _have_ to anymore, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to make it easier for you. And you took care of me so much after the blood clot, so it just felt wrong to sit here when I knew you were so miserable."

Sharon nodded. "I'm sorry I was so short with you, but I'm not ready for you to see me like that. We'll get there someday, but we're not there yet."

Andy understood that, and he felt even worse for ignoring her request the day before. Having Sharon take care of him when he had something like a cold was one thing, but he probably wouldn't want her around if he were sick to his stomach any more than she'd wanted him around. "I get it. If the situation had been reversed, then I probably would've been aggravated, too. I'm sorry." Sharon's expression was much less angry and more welcoming, so he closed the space between them and pressed his lips to hers. "Am I still banned from your place?"

Sharon shook her head. "And Rusty's staying with Gus tonight, so I'll need some help finding something to do," she said suggestively.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

After dinner, Sharon started to clear the table, but Andy stopped her. "Nuh-uh. I'm cleaning up. And then I've got some making up to do." Their sexual relationship had moved at a snail's pace, and they'd been pretty traditional with that so far, but Andy had been craving a different level of closeness lately and hadn't been sure how to initiate it. The timing seemed right, though, so he went for it.

Sharon tilted her head. "Oh? I'm listening." His apology had been enough, but she was curious about what he had in mind.

"Let's just say you won't have to move a muscle."

Sharon didn't get it at first, but a shiver ran down her spine when it dawned on her. "If we both clean up, we'll get done faster."

The second the kitchen had reached Sharon's minimum standard of clean, she took Andy's hand and led him to the bedroom. Andy eyed her as she stripped down to her deep purple, lacy bra and panties. His favorite ones. Damn that woman, she'd obviously had the same thing on her mind since she got dressed that morning. "Seems like you've been plotting, yourself," he murmured as he slipped his hand inside her panties.

Sharon gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"Uh-huh. You know what these do to me."

Sharon squealed as Andy gently pushed her back against the bed. She was afraid he might go straight to the source and set up camp, but he started on the insides of her thighs before slowly and tenderly making his way to his destination. Sharon gripped his hair as he got closer, but had to switch to the sheets for fear of pulling some of his hair out. A little while later, she was lying in his arms, exhausted and more satisfied than she'd been in a long time. "We might have to argue more often," Andy teased.

Sharon looked up at him. "We had an argument?"

Andy grinned to himself. Damn, he was good.


	9. Chapter 9

**I know it's been a while, so here's a recap: Sharon's mom arrived the day before Emily was born, and Sharon went into labor in Chapter 2.**

 **I know hospitals (where I live, anyway) didn't encourage many visitors for new moms in the 80s and that things in general were different than they are now, but all of the hospital details I included were confirmed by my mom as either something she or someone she knew experienced after having a baby between 1980 and 1986. I know all hospitals do things differently, but finding out how specific LA hospitals did things in the 80s wasn't exactly a fruitful google search, so I did the best I could. I'm sorry if any of it is inaccurate. Same for the details when Sharon went back to work—I don't know anything about the LAPD, and information on how they did shifts then was hard to find, so I did my best. Again, I'm sure I was inaccurate about something, but I tried :).**

Andy came home from the gym one Saturday afternoon, surprised to find Sharon digging through her closet and pulling all of his things out. "Um...Anything I should know?"

Sharon barely looked up. "Yeah. We have to get all of your stuff out of here."

"Okay...Care to tell me why?"

"My sister and her husband are coming to LA next weekend, and they're staying here."

Andy assumed that meant he should stay at his place the following weekend, with the whole 'one bathroom' problem, but what did that have to do with his clothes?...Wait a minute. "You _still_ haven't told your family we're dating?!"

Sharon gave Andy a sheepish smile. "They know I'm seeing someone, but..." She trailed off. "We were only starting to get serious when the blood clot happened, and then you went from patient to basically live-in boyfriend so quickly that I barely noticed it. Well...It seemed quick to _me_ , anyway," Sharon amended, seeing the disbelieving look on Andy's face. "But I can't tell Alice without telling my brother and my parents, and I'm just not ready for all of that yet."

"You're a grown woman, Sharon, it's none of their business what you do. All they need to know is that we're in a serious relationship."

"It's not just that..." Sharon looked around at the sheer volume of Andy's things that had accumulated over the last few months. "We've somehow unofficially crossed the line of you living here, and I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"We're not living together—"

"Officially, no, but we basically are. You could stay here for a week or two without having to go home for more things."

Sharon was sitting on the floor of her closet at this point, and Andy slid his back down the wall to join her. "Is that such a bad thing?"

Sharon bit her bottom lip. "Maybe we should just, uh, take a step back. Nothing's changed about the way I feel about you," she clarified, "I just need a little space."

Andy was a little taken aback, but he understood. With them working together every day, it was easy for them to just have a mutual understanding of whether he was coming over or not. It was usually assumed unless Andy had a reason not to or suggested that they stay at his house instead. When he didn't stay over, it was usually on his terms and had to do with him having a meeting, needing more clothes, or having something to do at home. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time she'd either asked him to stay for the night or he had suggested it and waited for her approval. At this point, if she wanted some time to herself, it would probably be a little awkward for her to bring it up. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't all that surprised that she needed some space. "Mentally, or in your closet?" He teased.

" _Andy_!" Sharon looked relieved that he wasn't upset.

Andy took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "Do you want me to go home tonight? I understand if you do. It's okay."

Sharon shook her head. "How about we just cut back on the weekday overnights? For now. Just _back_. Not _out_."

Andy kissed her cheek. "That's fine. And I won't come over unless you've asked me to, and it's okay to say no if you don't want to stay at my place when I ask you. I'll make you a deal."

"Ugh, I _knew_ that was too easy!" Sharon moaned.

"Hear me out. I won't complain about taking a step back, and we can move to the next level when you're ready, but you have to tell your family about us. Not just that we're 'seeing each other,' but that we've been serious about each other for a while now. I'll move my things out of your closet next week. _After_ you've told them. I'll do whatever you want me to do next weekend, stay here or not, meet them or not, but you have to tell them."

Sharon sighed dramatically. "You drive a hard bargain."

"I can't _imagine_ where I learned to do that."

After dinner that evening, Sharon once again found herself looking through photo albums. Emily was a newborn in these, and various moments of new motherhood came to Sharon's mind.

 **September 1985**

Emily was born close to midnight, but she was still nameless when Sharon's mom arrived as early as visiting hours would allow the next morning. Fearing for his life if he made her wait a second longer than she had to, Jack had gone to pick her up and to get some things Sharon had asked for as soon as he woke up. "Let me see my granddaughter!" Sharon was nursing the baby, and she held the blanket back so her mom could see her. After the experience of childbirth and the frequency with which she was still being checked, modesty was long-gone. Sharon had never been that modest in front of her mom, anyway. "Have you guys decided on a name?"

"No," Sharon admitted.

"We had agreed on several different names for both a boy and a girl, but none of the girl-names we had picked out seem to fit her," Jack added.

"Well, you have a little time." Emily watched as the baby turned her head from Sharon's breast. "Does she need to eat on the other side, or is she finished?"

"She should be finished." Sharon handed the baby to her mom and adjusted her nightgown and robe. "Don't worry about it if you can't get her to burp. She doesn't get as much air with my breast as she would with a bottle, so she doesn't burp every time."

Emily gazed adoringly at the baby for a few moments before holding her to her shoulder and patting her back. "It's crazy how much things change from one generation to the next. Breastfeeding wasn't recommended by doctors at all when you guys were babies. I don't think I even knew anyone my age who did it."

"It wouldn't hurt my feelings if that were still the case," Sharon admitted. "It takes forever, and it hurts like hell. It's supposed to be the best thing for them, though." She yawned. "Every time a nurse brought her to me to feed during the night, I felt like I'd just fallen asleep. And then it takes her almost forty-five minutes to eat. It is funny how quickly things change. A lot has changed even since my friends started having babies just a couple of years ago. By the time we have another one, I wouldn't be surprised if they could tell you whether it was a boy or a girl ahead of time!"

Emily brushed Sharon's messy hair back from her face. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I won't let anyone disturb you for a while unless it's necessary. I know the nurses have things they need to do, but you need some sleep."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Sharon mumbled. She probably wouldn't have been able to fall completely asleep with just Jack with the baby, but she trusted her mom with her more than she trusted herself. It wasn't long before she was unconscious, and she was woken up by a squealing baby all too soon.

"I think she's hungry again," Emily apologized as she gently shook Sharon's shoulder. "She's trying to eat me through my shirt. She clearly has no idea that Nana is bone dry."

"Nice," Sharon muttered as she took the baby from her mom. "You already have your name picked out, and I can't even name my own baby."

"You'll figure it out, honey."

Sharon winced as the baby latched on, and Emily gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat. "God, this hurts like crap."

"I'm going to walk to that deli down the block and get some lunch," Emily announced a little while later.

"I'm not that hungry, but if they have some soup that looks good, I'll try that," Sharon said. The hospital's lunch had come far too early for her taste.

Jack got some cash out of his wallet and gave it to Emily. "I'll take anything veggie they have, or some soup or something with turkey will be fine. Thank you."

Once she was gone, the baby started wailing inconsolably. She had just eaten, and Sharon had just changed her, so she had no idea what was wrong with her. Sharon realized she hadn't burped all day, that she knew of, so the poor baby was probably about to explode by now. "What's the matter? Does your little tummy hurt?" Sharon murmured. She held the baby to her shoulder and gently patted her back.

"She looks just like your mom when she's screaming like that," Jack commented.

Sharon craned her neck so she could see the baby's face. "She does, doesn't she? Hmmm..."

"Want to re-visit the 'Emily' idea?" Jack asked.

That was one of the first girl-names they had discussed, but Sharon had dismissed it, claiming that it had become too trendy in the last few years. She hadn't even considered the name in months. Now that the baby was here, though, the idea of naming her after her mother was suddenly appealing again. Meanwhile, the baby had let out a burp loud enough to put a drunk old man to shame and was quiet again. Sharon laid her against her knees and gazed at her. "Emily...I like it. Emily Marie Raydor." 'Marie' was Sharon's aunt's name, who had recently died from cancer. They had decided on it for a middle name before they'd even discussed first names. "Are you sure you don't mind both names coming from my side of the family?"

Jack shrugged. "She has my last name, and you did carry her for nine months and give birth to her. I think you're entitled to name her after your family if you want to." _As long as I get to name the boy, if we have a son._

Sharon smiled down at Emily. "You can name the next one, I promise."

The older Emily, who would undoubtedly hate it if she ever knew she had been referred to as such, came back with lunch soon after that. "Sharon? Do you want to send the baby to the nursery and have Jack take me to your house so you can rest, or do you want me to stay? Whatever you want is fine with me."

"I'd like for you to stay, if you don't mind. Between nursing her and someone coming in here every two seconds, I'm not getting much rest, anyway. I like having her in here, but..."

"You want to rest while you can? I don't blame you. Jack and I can handle her until it's time to eat again."

Sharon accepted her soup from her mom. "Thank you. Go ahead and eat, Mom, Jack can hold Emily until you're done."

"Okay...Wait, _Emily_?!"

Sharon nodded. "We decided while you were gone. We'd thought about it soon after I got pregnant, but..."

"It's gotten so trendy lately," Emily supplied.

"Exactly!" Sharon agreed. "But, now that she's here, it seems to fit her. And of course I love the idea of naming her after you."

"Thanks, honey." Tears filled the older Emily's eyes as she leaned down to kiss the top of Sharon's head. "I love it."

As if on cue, the newborn Emily started to whimper. "Whoa, now, we can only have one crying Emily at a time," Jack said, grinning nervously as he tried to soothe the baby.

Sharon looked around and grabbed a pacifier from the table beside her bed. "Here, try that. She shouldn't be hungry or need to be changed."

With the baby quiet, the older Emily turned toward Sharon. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, the fire between my legs has died down a little bit," Sharon muttered. "The pads they gave me are cold, and they have been a lifesaver. Her head was a little bigger than they thought she would be, and I tore. I had to get stitches, and I have to spray myself every time I pee." She finished her soup and gave the empty bowl to her mom to put in the garbage and tried to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

A couple of months later, Sharon was back on patrol. She still had several months left before she was eligible for a promotion to Sergeant or Detective. Her parents had come back to LA and were staying for a couple of weeks, as Sharon knew it would be hard to adjust to going back to work. Leaving Emily was difficult enough when she knew she was with her parents, and taking her to daycare was going to be even worse.

Most of Sharon's first day back was surprisingly low-key, but of course she and her partner were called to an accident scene with a couple of hours left in her shift. It was just a fender-bender, but it would probably still take a while to take down statements and get everything taken care of. A woman involved had a baby with her, who thankfully wasn't hurt, but had been frightened and was screaming. Despite the fact that she'd pumped at the station a little over an hour before, Sharon felt her breasts leaking. Great. With the thick material and dark color of her uniform, no one else could tell, but it wasn't going to take long for the warm moisture to become cold and uncomfortable.

By the time Sharon and her partner got back to the station and Sharon had gotten her own car, it was after 7:00. She called her house before she left to ask her parents about Emily and if they needed anything, and her mom assured her that she was cooking dinner and that everything was fine. Sharon couldn't wait to see Emily, and her breasts couldn't wait, either. Despite leaking before, they were filling up again and were starting to hurt. She'd told her mom to try to wait until she got home before feeding Emily again, but to go ahead and feed her if she was crying and overdue for a bottle. She'd much rather nurse than pump, but Emily wasn't so patient when it was time to eat.

When Sharon got home, her dad was holding Emily, and she barely greeted them as she stashed her small cooler of pumped milk in the freezer and made her way to the baby. Emily grinned and cooed when she recognized Sharon. "Mommy missed you so much today! Were you a sweet girl for Nana and Granddad?"

"She was a little angel," Bill answered. "Granddad might have to move to LA!"

"Has Jack called?" Sharon asked. "Has Emily eaten recently? Hmmm, I guess not." Emily had undoubtedly smelled the leaked milk on Sharon's uniform and started whimpering.

"Jack called and said he was working late," the older Emily spoke up. "And Emily's probably hungry by now."

"All right. I'll go feed this little one. Dinner smells great, Mom, you guys go ahead and eat." Sharon took Emily back to her bedroom and briefly laid her in the middle of the bed while she quickly removed her top and bra. They had been cold and uncomfortable for a while by then, and she couldn't wait to get them off. "All right, darling girl, let's get this baby fed." Emily's whimpers died down to a contented grunt as she started to nurse, and Sharon gazed down at her while she fed. Once the baby was settled, Sharon removed the rest of her clothing and slipped into a pair of pajama pants. In the last couple of months, she'd become quite skilled at doing things one-handed while she fed Emily. It didn't take as long to nurse as it did at first, and it didn't hurt anymore, but nursing was still close to a thirty minute task. She had originally planned to switch to formula when she went back to work, but she wasn't ready to give up nursing yet. She'd heard people talk about the sweet bonding that nursing provided, but she'd thought she'd be over it by the time Emily was over two months old. She wasn't even close. Pumping that day hadn't been as difficult as she'd thought it would be, and her partner and her boss were understanding about her needing to go back to the station every few hours. She knew every day wouldn't be as easy as today had been, but she thought it was probably doable for a few more months. She worked three twelve-hour shifts a week, and sometimes overtime, but three days a week for the most part wouldn't be too bad. Especially now that she was a new mom and was working with her boss for more non-patrol duties during her shifts, much to her dismay, as she preferred the excitement and unpredictability that came with patrol.

Sharon smiled down at Emily as she nursed. "Did you miss me as much as I missed you today?" She murmured. She had admittedly been ready to get out of the house by the time her maternity leave was up, but she'd missed Emily like crazy. There had been an influx of visitors in the couple of weeks after Emily was born, but once that died down, the days began to get long and lonely, and part of her had looked forward to going back to work. Emily turned her head and whined about fifteen minutes later, pulling Sharon out of her thoughts, so she tried to burp her before feeding her on her other breast.

"All right, you must be about done," Sharon commented a little while later, seeing that Emily wasn't really eating anymore and was just gnawing on her. "You're just playing, now, you little goofball. Let's see if you'll burp for me, and then we'll get your diaper changed." Sharon gently patted Emily's back as she gathered a box of wet wipes and a fresh diaper. "There we go! All clean and dry."

Sharon put a sweatshirt on and took Emily back to the kitchen, where her parents had finished eating dinner. "There's still plenty in the oven," her mom assured her as she took the baby from her.

"Thanks, Mom." Sharon fixed a plate, trying to ignore the nagging feeling inside of her that made her doubt that work was what was keeping Jack from being home at a decent hour.

 **Thanks for reading! Like I've said before, some chapters will be shandy-heavy, and some will be memory-heavy. The last chapter was mostly shandy, so I thought a child-heavy one would be okay this time. The next chapter will pick up with the discussion of telling Sharon's family about her and Andy's relationship.**

 **If any of you have any requests for anything specific to happen either in the memories or with present-day shandy, I'd love for you to message me. I want to write what y'all want to read :).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Duff was irritatingly lazy with his characterization of Sharon, so I didn't take the failure to mention Sharon's parents again after The Closer episode where they were mentioned as meaning that they had died at some point. I took it as him forgetting her parents had ever been mentioned and just not caring whether Sharon still had living parents or not. Same thing for how prude-ish Sharon sometimes seemed to be. I didn't take it as her rarely cussing or not discussing personal things with people she's close to-I took it as Duff being lazy and not caring about giving her character any kind of personality or depth. :)**

 **I listened to the WWSRD podcast when it aired, and I remember Mary saying that she saw Sharon as being either an only child or possibly having only one other sibling, but, for the same reasoning she gave, I thought the opposite. It's been a while since I listened to it, but if I'm remembering correctly, she said something about the thoughtfulness and individual attention with which she engaged in conversations with Ricky and Rusty indicating that Sharon had grown up with a lot of attention from her parents. Maybe that's true, but it could also be true that Sharon lacked that amount of individual attention from her parents, so she wanted to make sure she gave her own children as much individual attention as she was able to. I also remember Duff saying something about "yeah, Sharon has siblings," in passing in one of his interviews or something (but he also said no other major characters would die after Chief Taylor, so we all see how trustworthy he was). The only good thing about Duff's lazy characterization of Sharon is that we can interpret her character pretty much however we want to, and no one knows whether we're right or wrong. :)**

The following Wednesday, Sharon had a rare evening to herself. She hadn't asked Andy to stay over, and Rusty had a late class. While she knew she was going to miss Andy when she got in bed, she couldn't help but enjoy doing what she wanted for dinner without having to coordinate with him and not having to worry about what he wanted to watch on TV. The time to herself also made her realize that she still felt a little like she had to entertain Andy when he was at the condo. She knew he didn't expect that from her, but she still felt that way. In some aspects, he felt like "home" to her, but in others, not so much. She knew they'd eventually get there, it would just take some time.

After dinner, Sharon settled on the living room floor with a glass of wine and several photo albums. She'd looked through many of them by now, but the more she went through, the more aggravated she got because they weren't organized. When Emily and Ricky were growing up, she was doing well just to get her pictures developed. She'd gone through several spurts where she tried to organize them, but she'd inevitably get busy with other things and lose interest. After a while, she got another glass of wine and turned the TV off, opting to listen to music instead. Ugh, the very first song that played was quintessential Jack. It was one of her favorites, though, so she still always loved to hear it, despite the fact that it always reminded her of one of the times when Jack came home for one of his stints of being a functional human being, and of Jack, in general.

 **May 1995**

Sharon came home from work late one Tuesday evening, and her heart sank when she noticed a familiar car in the driveway. Jack. She hadn't seen or heard from him in months. She knew she'd be working late, so she'd asked Anne to pick up Emily and Ricky from St. Joseph's. Their after-school program worked with Sharon on their hours when it was necessary, but she didn't want them to have to stay so late if she could help it. Joe usually played cards with some friends on Tuesday nights, so Anne often ended up at the Raydor residence on those evenings, anyway. At ten and seven years old, Emily and Ricky didn't require much care other than making sure they didn't kill each other, so Sharon didn't feel too bad about asking Anne to keep them for a couple of hours. The older they got, the less guilty she felt about asking her neighbors for help with them.

When Sharon walked into the kitchen, Jack was unpacking a grocery bag like he'd been there all along. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Sharon demanded, once she saw that Emily nor Ricky appeared to be within earshot.

Jack closed the refrigerator door and turned to face her. "What, no 'hello?'"

Sharon rolled her eyes. " _Hello_ , jackass, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I've been sober for a couple of months now, and I've been in touch with some friends who have been referring clients to me. I'm building up a pretty good business, and I want to come home."

"Yeah. I haven't heard _that_ a time or two." If it weren't for Emily and Ricky, Sharon wouldn't have had any problem with kicking Jack out on the spot, but she figured they'd been ecstatic to see him. It wasn't fair to them for her to keep him away from them, but it also wasn't fair for Jack to come home and get their hopes up, just to leave again a few weeks later. Also, the older they got, the more they were observing the family dynamics when Jack _was_ home, and she didn't want them to think that there was anything normal or okay about a "husband" and "father" disappearing for months at a time, shirking responsibility, and only coming home and being part of the family when it suited him.

"I'm serious this time."

"You were serious _last_ time, too. You can't keep doing this to our children, Jack. You don't have to see the heartbroken expressions on their faces or deal with Emily's sleepless nights or Ricky's behavior problems every time you leave, but I do. In or out. You have to make a decision."

"I'm home for good this time, Sharon, I promise."

"Whatever. You're sleeping on the couch." Sharon had put dinner in the crockpot that morning, and she looked at the timer and saw that it would be ready in about thirty minutes. She could toss a salad and get out some fresh fruit once it was ready. "You think you can keep our children alive for less than an hour?" After downing a glass of wine, she refilled her glass, grabbed the two remaining bottles in the house, and went next door to vent to Anne. God, she was so pissed off she could barely see straight.

Anne had spotted her storming across the driveway and met her at the door. "I'm sorry, Sharon. I thought about paging you, but I didn't want you to think something was wrong with Emily or Ricky—"

"Don't worry, Anne. This isn't the first time he's just shown up like this. Unfortunately." Sharon set the bottles of wine on the counter, got a couple of wine glasses out of a cabinet, and poured two glasses from the open bottle. "Mind if I stash these here? It might not do any good, but all I can do is keep alcohol out of the house."

"Sure."

Sharon took a long sip of wine. "Thanks for picking up Emily and Ricky for me. You're still welcome to eat dinner with us, but I don't blame you if you'd rather not."

"You're welcome, and I'll let you guys have some time together. I'm not that hungry, so I probably won't eat for a while."

"I should probably go back home and check on the kids. I was so angry at Jack that I didn't think to see what they were doing." Sharon drained the last of her wine. "I'll probably be back once they're in bed," she muttered.

Anne gave her a sympathetic smile. "The wine and I will still be here."

A week and a half later, Sharon came home later than normal on Friday evening. With Jack being around, she was taking advantage of picking up extra hours. He'd been working from home, so he'd been able to get the kids from their after-school activities and actually be helpful for once. When she walked into the kitchen, it was eerily quiet, and Jack was putting something into the stove. Sharon dropped her work bag into a bar stool and looked around. "Where are Emily and Ricky?" They'd usually be fighting over what to watch on TV in the living room or bombarding her with questions about spend-the-night company or renting a movie right about now.

"Sam and Jane haven't seen them in a while, so they offered to take them for the night," Jack explained. His brother and sister-in-law lived about half an hour away.

"And you didn't think to check with me first?" Sharon didn't have a problem with that or any plans that involved the children, but Jack didn't know that.

"Well, you've been working a lot this week, so I thought you could use some rest."

 _And you thought you might get laid_ , Sharon thought bitterly to herself. She looked out the window and saw that Anne and Joe were on their porch with what looked like cocktails. It had been raining for most of the week, but the sun had finally come back out today, and she'd hoped to come home and sit outside and enjoy the nice weather. "Whatever. I'll be next door."

Anne looked up from her drink, as she'd heard Sharon crossing the yard before she saw her coming. Sharon had been a frequent visitor in the last week and a half. "Hi, honey. Want a Post-Monsoon Celebration?" She asked, holding up her drink.

Sharon shrugged. "What's in it?"

"Rum and—"

"Yes, please."

Anne laughed as she handed Sharon her cup. "Just finish mine, and I'll get another one...And a fresh one for you as well," she added after Sharon took a long gulp and drained half of the remaining drink.

" _Thank_ you." Sharon got comfortable in one of the overstuffed chairs and took another long sip of her drink.

A couple of stronger-than-they-tasted drinks later, Sharon was in much better spirits and went back home. Music was playing, and Jack was checking on whatever he was cooking in the oven. "That needs just a few more minutes."

Sharon nodded. "Smells great." It really did. Jack was a pretty good cook when he made the effort, and she was starving. She hadn't eaten much lunch. _Damn_ it, she knew from the way he was looking it her that he knew she was a little drunk. The next song that played from the stereo system didn't help things, either. It had always been one of their favorites.

 _Hello, yeah, it's been a while_

 _Not much, how 'bout you?_

 _I'm not sure why I called_

 _I guess I really just wanted to talk to you_

 _And I was thinking maybe later on_

 _We could get together for awhile_

 _It's been such a long time_

 _And I really do miss your smile_

 _I'm not talking 'bout movin' in_

 _And I don't want to change your life_

 _But there's a warm wind blowing the stars around_

 _And I'd really love to see you tonight_

 _We could go walking through a windy park_

 _Or take a drive along the beach_

 _Or stay a home and watch TV_

 _You see it really doesn't matter much to me_

Next thing Sharon knew, Jack had her in his arms and was pressing soft kisses along her neck. She wanted to still be pissed off at him, but the last week and a half of his familiar presence and the way he made her laugh had gradually worn her down. It felt so good to be in his arms again, and he seemed like an old friend. She'd been with one other man since the last time Jack was home, and he'd been an awkward disappointment in the bedroom. Jack knew just how to satisfy her, and he knew exactly what she liked and didn't like in bed. He may have been a deadbeat asshole, but mama was stressed and needed to get off. Jack barely had to lay a hand on her for her body to react to his familiar touch. As Sharon gave in and joined in on the kissing, Jack hurriedly turned the stove off and subtly guided their direction to the bedroom. He'd been sleeping on the couch all week, and he smugly thought to himself that he doubted that would be the case tonight. He was right. After an intense encounter in the bedroom, they ate dinner and went back for round two.

Over the next couple of weeks, Jack was on his way to getting back on his feet and was spending time with the children, and seeing him act like a functional adult, husband, and father had Sharon seeking him out in the bedroom once the children were in bed quite frequently in the weeks that followed. Until she got home one Thursday evening with Emily and Ricky to find an empty house. This wasn't the first time this had happened since Jack came home, but the house was eerily still and empty as she set the pizza they were having for dinner on the counter. Sharon knew before she even found the envelope with her name scribbled on it that Jack was gone.

Sharon heard a gasping breath from Emily and looked over at her to see tears forming in her eyes. "Dad's gone, isn't he?"

Sharon nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so, honey."

"No, he's _not_!" Ricky protested. He ran around the first floor and into Sharon's room, looking for anything that could even possibly belong to Jack, and he threw himself on the couch and started sobbing when he found nothing.

"He was _supposed_ to come to my dance recital!" Emily wailed from the recliner, where she'd curled up and was still crying, too. "He _promised_!"

"I know, baby. I'm so sorry." Sharon gently lifted Ricky from the couch and squeezed into the recliner with him in her lap and Emily sobbing into her side.

Later that evening, once Emily and Ricky were ready for bed, Sharon tucked them into her bed. It never failed, they always ended up in her bed for a few nights after Jack left, and it also helped her to have her children in bed with her, so she'd asked if they wanted to sleep with her so they wouldn't have to ask her first.

The following morning, Sharon wasn't sure what to do. In the past, Jack had come and gone either in the summer or on a Friday, when Emily and Ricky didn't have to go to school the next day. She didn't want to set a precedent for allowing them to miss school without a good reason, but she just couldn't send them to school today. Emily had tossed and turned all night, and she'd only fallen deeply asleep less than an hour ago, and Sharon knew they were both heartbroken. With the end of the school year drawing near, Ricky's behavior was less than desirable, anyway, and Jack being gone was just asking for him to get in trouble at school. Decision made, she called in excuses to work for herself and to St. Joseph's for Emily and Ricky, then climbed back in bed. They spent the day cuddled on the couch together, eating junk food and watching movies in their pajamas, and the day off was good for all three of them.

 **Back to Present**

Sharon was relieved when the song was over, as much as she usually enjoyed hearing it, despite the fact that it usually reminded her of Jack. Thinking of Jack made her think about Andy, which reminded her that she had to tell her family how serious they were. She decided to tell her mom first and get the hardest part over with. She'd let Alice meet Andy in person over the weekend and tell her then, and then her brother could either find out from her mom or Alice or the next time she and Paul happened to talk on the phone. She wasn't going to make a point to call him just for this, and she knew he wouldn't be upset about not being told by Sharon, herself. Although he'd likely call her and give her hell the minute either Alice or her mom told him about Andy.

Sharon left work early Friday afternoon to pick up Alice and Tom at the airport. They were going to have a couple of drinks on the balcony before they met Andy for dinner. Telling her mom about Andy had been more painless than she'd thought. She wasn't worried about her parents' approval or anything, but Andy was a part of her life that she'd liked keeping mostly private. The only reason people at work knew was because it was impossible to keep it a secret with them being in the same department. As expected, her mom had had a few questions, but Sharon had expected more probing questions than she asked. Andy being an alcoholic didn't bother her, as she was quick to recognize how much more committed he was to being sober than Jack had been, and it had ended up being a pleasant chat.

Now that Alice and Tom were in her car, Sharon wished she had told Alice over the phone, as well, so it would be over with now. Earlier that week, it seemed like it would've been easier for them to meet Andy, and then for Sharon to tell them after they met how serious their relationship had gotten. Sharon couldn't tell whether her mom had already told Alice about Andy or not, and it was driving her crazy.

When they got to the condo, all three of them sat on the balcony with cocktails. Sharon didn't drink anything besides wine often enough to keep any other alcohol in the condo, but with Alice and Tom coming, she'd bought vodka, as all three of them liked a mixed drink every now and then. A few minutes later, Tom excused himself to take a phone call, and Sharon took the opportunity to talk to Alice alone. Gripping her vodka and cranberry juice tightly in her hands, she began to speak. "Andy's meeting us for dinner tonight," she began, "and we're not just casually dating anymore. I mean, we've gotten more serious, and I feel like we've gotten to where this is going to be long-term."

"Oh, I know," Alice said, like it wasn't a big deal.

"I _knew_ Mom would tell you! I didn't tell her not to, but—"

"Oh, Mom didn't tell me. I've kind of figured for a while, now."

Sharon's eyes widened. "You _have_? How?!"

Alice, who seemed to have had a couple of drinks on the plane, took a sip of her vodka-tonic. "You guys have been sleeping together for, what, a few months, now?"

"How did you know?" Sharon demanded.

Alice rolled her eyes. "After about our third conversation where I hung up the phone and realized that I hadn't thought you needed to get laid because you were so uptight, I figured you were getting some somewhere. You were still mentioning Andy every now and then, and I knew you would never have casual sex with someone you work with, much less with someone who's your subordinate. It wasn't hard to figure out."

Sharon bit her bottom lip. "I really didn't mean to keep it from any of you, but—"

"Oh, I know. That's not the easiest subject to bring up," Alice assured her. "I'm just glad you're happy. I didn't expect you to really tell me about it until you were certain that the relationship was going somewhere." She gave Sharon an evil grin. "And you clearly had no idea how obvious it is when you've had a natural de-stressor. Now that we're on this, you lost your virginity to Jack right before Christmas Break of your senior year of college, didn't you?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Now _that's_ just weird."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Am I not right?"

"Well, _yes_ , but it's still weird!" Sharon took another sip of her drink, relieved that the cat was out of the bag now. And thinking that her sister was creepy as hell.

 **Sharon not telling her family how serious she and Andy were was different from Brenda and Fritz—from what I remember, Brenda hiding it from her parents seemed to be more about being afraid they'd disapprove of them living together. With Sharon, I've intended for it to be that she wasn't sure she herself was comfortable with how far their relationship had progressed, and with her seeming to be so private and it being so long since she'd had to tell her family about a new relationship, it was difficult for her to do so. I haven't read much fanfic that gets into the hangups and small disagreements Sharon and Andy would've had when their relationship was still new, so that's been the whole point of this story. It's not realistic to just jump right in and have them be perfect from the beginning and ignore the awkwardness and disagreements they might have had. :)**

 **Thanks for reading, and another thanks to all of you who take the time to review!**


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